English → Latin
“defection” in Latin
dēfectiōdefection, desertion; rebellion, revolt (of a city); failing, failure, deficiency, want, disappearance, declinerebelliōA renewal of war; rebellion, insurgency, revolt.; usurpation, overthrowrebellisThat makes war anew, waging war again; insurgent, rebellious.transfŭgĭuma going over to the enemy
The English word defection itself goes back to Latin dēficiō, through dēfectiō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
defection
A falling away, defectio; from anybody, ab aliquo: rebellio; rebellium (both mean a renewal of war on the side of a people reduced to peace, the last occurs in Liv., 42, 21): transfugium; transitio ad hostem (a going over of soldiers to the enemy): a defection from one’s religion, *defectio a sacris: to try to bring about anybody’s defection, alicujus animum ad defectionem sollicitare: to drive anybody to defection, aliquem in societatem defectionis impellere. Vid: REVOLT.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for defection?
- The usual Latin words for “defection” are dēfectiō, rebelliō, rebellis; also transfŭgĭum. 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.