English → Latin
“destitute” in Latin
nūdusunclothed, nude, naked; stripped, deprived, destitute; defenceless, helpless, unarmednūdōto strip, bare, nake, make naked; to leave exposed, leave defenseless; to spoil, plunderprīvātusapart from the state; unofficial, private; peculiar, special, personal, individualinopshelpless, destitute, indigent, poor; deprived, lacking, needy (+ genitive or ab + ablative); mean, wretched, contemptiblauxiliumhelp, aid, assistance, relief; antidote, remedydēstituōto fix or set in position; to place; to leave alone, forsake, abandon or desert; to delude, deceive, cheategeōto lack, to want, to be without; to need, to require; to desire, to long for, to want
The English word destitute itself goes back to Latin dēstitūtus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
destitute
With the object expressed, destitutus aliqua re (less commonly ab aliqua re; e.g., amicis; praeceptis; scientia juris; but spe [Curt.] or a spe [Liv.]; a re familiari): derelictus aliqua re (e.g., non modo fortuna, verum etiam spe): nudus: nudatus: privatus; spoliatus aliqua re: to be destitute of troops, nudum esse ab exercitu (of a country): to be destitute of everything, omnibus rebus nudatum esse; omnium rerum esse inopem.
ABSOL., inops, also with auxilii (who has no power to help himself): auxilio orbatus or destitutus: omnium rerum inops: omnibus rebus orbatus (utterly destitute): omnibus fortunis spoliatus (Cic.): egenus omnium (Liv.; rare, not pre-Augustan): egens: egentissimus: mendicus (miserably poor): to be destitute (= miserably poor), in summa egestate or mendicitate esse; in summa mendicitate vivere; vitam in mendicitate degere: anybody is utterly destitute, nihil aliquo egentius: a destitute condition, inopia.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for destitute?
- The usual Latin words for “destitute” are nūdus, nūdō, prīvātus; also inops, auxilium, dēstituō. 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.