English → Latin
“device” in Latin
īnsignea distinguishing mark, emblem, badge; an ensign, an honour, a badge of honour; a coat of armsarsart, skill, craft, handicraft; trade, occupation, employment; cunning, artifice, fraud, stratagemartificiumart, craft, skill, talent, artifice, craftsmanship; profession, trade, an employmentmāchinacontrivance; war machine, military engine, siege engine; scaffolddolorpain, ache, hurt; anguish, grief, sorrow; indignation, resentment, anger, fury, vengeancefrauscheating, deceit, deception, fraud, guile, stratagem, trick, treachery, wiles; delusion, error; injury, hurt, harmtechnaA piece of craft or subtlety; wile, trick, artifice, cunning devicestrophastrophedīcōto say, talk, speak, utter, mention; to declare, state; to tellsententiaa way of thinking, view, opinion, judgement or sentence; a purpose, intention, will (one's thinking in respect to the fu
The English word device itself goes back to Latin dīvidō, through dīvīsus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
device
Emblematical figure, *imago symbolica: insigne (general term for a distinctive mark, etc., by which a person or thing is recognized). To be easily distinguished by his device, ex insigni facile agnosci posse (Nep.; of the admiral’s ship).
Motto used with the device, dictum: sententia: inscriptio: index (e.g., tabula cum indice hoc, Liv.; index sub imagine, Tib.)
Artifice, ars: artificium: machina: dolus: fraus; and (comedy) techna: stropha (τέχνη, στροφή). To contrive a device, artificium excogitare: to employ a device, artem or machinam adhibere (alicui rei, or in aliqua re). To obtain one’s end by some device, artificio aliquid consequi; artificio vincere: anything has been brought into any state by the devices of a person, alicujus artificiis effectum est, ut res in aliquem statum perveniret (Cic.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for device?
- The usual Latin words for “device” are īnsigne, ars, artificium; also māchina, dolor, fraus. 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.