English → Latin
“depth” in Latin
altitūdōheight (distance from bottom to top); depth; spiritual or emotional depthprofunditāsdepth; vastness, immensityprofundusdeep, profound; intense, extreme, profound; immoderate; boundless, vast; bottomlessaltusold, ancient, long gone; high-born, lofty, noble; high-minded, magnanimous, greatvorāgōabyss, chasm, whirlpool, deep hole, pitlātitūdōbreadth, width, latitude; extent, size, compass, broadness; a broad pronunciation; richness of expressionrecēdōto go away, withdraw, retire, depart from a place; to abandon a thing
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
depth
altitudo (depth, as a quality): profunditas (depth, as a property; though not used by ancient writers, it is analogically formed, and may be retained wherever perspicuity requires it): profundum: altum (depths of the sea; hardly, except where mare, locus, etc. can be supplied; e.g., jecissem me potius in profundum, sc. mare, into the depths of the sea): vorago (an abyss): latitudo (horizontal depth from face to back; breadth, opposed to longitudo): vocis genus grave (depth of voice or sound): recessus (that which retires back; e.g., recessus oris, etc.): depths, loca in mirandam altitudinem depressa: the depths of a forest, silvarum profunda (Tac.): the depth of the stream, altitudo fluminis: the immense depth (of a river), profunda altitudo (Tac.): the depth of the sea, altitudo maris (as a property); profundum maris (the bottom of the sea): to cast one’s self into the depths of the sea, praecipitare (without design); se jacere in profundum (with design): to be out of one’s depth, in profundo esse; solo or vado fugiente destitui aliquem vadum destituit (Liv. 21, 28): to be afraid of getting out of one’s depth, timere altitudinem (Liv. 21, 28): the house is thirty feet in depth, domus triginta pedes in latitudinem exstructa est; domus triginta pedes lata est.
Depth of character, altitudo ingenii; of soul, altitudo animi (βαθύτης; Vid: Beier, Cic., Off., 1, 25, 88): the depth of the Divine wisdom, summa Dei sapientia. ☞ Neither profunditas, nor profundum, nor altitudo can be used for “depth of learning,” “depth of intellect,” etc.; but either subtilitas or acumen ingenii, or circumlocution, ingenium subtile; litterae non vulgares, sed interiores quaedam et reconditae, etc.
Middle; in the depth of the night, media nocte: the depth of winter, summa hiems: it was the depth of winter, the weather being very cold and rainy, erat hiems summa, tempestas perfrigida, imber maximus (Cic.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for depth?
- The usual Latin words for “depth” are altitūdō, profunditās, profundus; also altus, vorāgō, lātitūdō. 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.