English → Latin
“dark” in Latin
obscūrusdark, dusky, shadowy; indistinct, unintelligible, obscure; intricate, involved, complicatedtenebricōsusfull of darkness or gloom, shrouded in darkness, dark, gloomycālīginōsusfull of mist, covered with mist, misty, foggy; cloudy; dark, obscure, gloomy; uncertain, dark, obscurecaecusblind (not seeing); blind, blinded (mentally or morally); blind, at random, vague, indiscriminate, aimless, meaningless,opācusshaded, darkened; in the shade; shady, dark; casting shade; obscureumbrōsusshady, shadowynūbiluscloudy, overcast; cloud-bringing; dark, gloomy, dim; troubled, confused, becloudedinvolvōto roll to or upon something; to roll about, wrap up, envelop, involve; cover, overwhelm; curl, coil up; veil; to involvabstrūdōto push or thrust away; conceal, hideperplexusentangled, involved, intricate, confused; unintelligible, complicated, intricate, inscrutable, ambiguous; dark, obscure
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
dark
Void of light, obscurus (dark, obscure; not sufficiently illuminated; opposed to illustris): tenebricosus (veiled in darkness; especially of shameful things and places; libidines; popina; tempus ineuntis aetatis): caliginosus (quite without light; tenebricosus stronger than obscurus; caliginosus than tenebricosus): ☞ tenebricus [very rare], and tenebrosus, are poetical words. caecus (when it is impossible to see; e.g., night, a house): opacus (shady; with reference to pleasant coolness; opposed to apertus, apricus, like εὔσκιος): umbrosus (stronger than opacus, with an approximation to darkness; = σκιόεις): nubilus (cloudy; of a day, etc): somewhat dark, subobscurus: subnubilus (from clouds): a dark night, nox obscura (in which the sky is cloudy): nox caliginosa (a very dark night): nox caeca or obducta (in which one can’t see two steps before one): it is dark, tenebrae sunt: it grows dark, tenebrae oboriuntur; caligo offunditur; vesperascit; advesperascit: when it was already dark, jam obscura luce; tenebris obortis: when it was, or it being, still dark, obscuro etiam tum lumine: when it was just beginning to grow dark, primis se intendentibus tenebris; primo vespere; prima nocte: to make anything dark, obscurum facere, obscurare (both; e.g., of a room, cubiculum, conclave); alicui rei lucem eripere (to deprive it of light): a dark lantern, *laterna furtiva or surda: to see as it were, in the dark, quasi per caliginem cernere (obscurely; Cic., Fin., 5, 15, 43).
Difficult to understand, obscurus; caecus; involutus (obscure, dark): non apertus ad intelligendum (not clear): abstrusus (e.g., insidiae, disputatio): perplexus: impeditus: incertus, etc. Somewhat dark, subobscurus: to make anything dark, alicui rei obscuritatem et tenebras afferre; tenebras obducere; lucem eripere et quasi noctem quandam alicui rei offundere (Cic., N.D., 1, 3, 6): to make a speech dark, orationem occaecare: to be so dark as to be unintelligible, in tenebris latere: obscuritate involutum latere: to be as dark as possible, crassis occultatum et circumfusum tenebris latere; omni intellectu carere.
With reference to color, fuscus (dark-brown, opposed to candidus): austerus (= nigricans; opposed to to a gay color): niger (opposed to albus): pullus (of a dirty black; e.g., like the wool of a black sheep): ravus (of a yellowish grey): to be somewhat dark, nigricare (of a color): colore nigricare (of a stuff, etc.): dARK, DARKNESS, obscuritas; obscurum: tenebrae (opposed to lux): caligo (complete darkness). [SYN. of adjectives under DARK.] To strengthen the notion, (The words are found in this connection and order.) obscuritas et tenebrae; tenebrae et caligo; caligo et tenebrae: darkness of the sky, caelum caliginosum.
Abstruseness, etc., of a subject, obscuritas.
Want of knowledge [Vid: IGNORANCE]. In that state of darkness and uncertainty, in ea obscuritate et dubitatione: anything about which we are in the dark, res obscura, occulta, involuta, occulta et quasi involuta. To be in the dark about anything, ignorare aliquid (once de aliquo, Cic., ignorat etiam de filio, Att., 8, 14, 3). We are still in the dark about anything, aliqua res nondum ad liquidum perducta or explorata est: to be involved in darkness, obscuritate involutum jacere: to dispel d. from the mind as from the eyes, caliginem ab animo tanquam ab oculis dispellere.
T he prince of darkness; Vid: DEVIL DARKEN, obscurare: tenebras offundere, or obducere alicui rei, or alicui (to wrap in darkness, so that it can no longer be seen in a clear light; PROP., and figuratively): noctem offundere alicui rei (PROP.): denigrare (to make black; rare, Varr., lanam, capillum, Plin.): colorare (to darken the complexion, etc.) [☞ inficere, poetically; as inficere diem, Ov.]: anybody’s eyes are darkened, oculi caligant; tenebrae oboriuntur; tenebrae mihi sunt; caligo oculis offunditur: anybody’s “joy is darkened,” oculi alicujus tristitiae quoddam nubilum ducunt (Quint. 11, 3, 75). It is natural that my walking in the sun should darken my complexion, cum in sole ambulem, natura fit, ut colorer (Cic.): no forgetfulness shall darken the remembrance of you, tuam memoriam nulla oblivio obscurabit: to darken a subject, alicui rei obscuritatem et tenebras afferre or tenebras obducere; lucem eripere et quasi noctem quandam alicui rei offundere (Cic.): to darken anybody’s doors (colloquial), alicujus limen intrare or transire: not to let anybody darken one’s doors, prohibere aliquem limine tectoque.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for dark?
- The usual Latin words for “dark” are obscūrus, tenebricōsus, cālīginōsus; also caecus, opācus, umbrōsus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.