What is the Latin word for devise?

The usual Latin words for “devise” are excōgitō, inveniō, fingō; also comminīscor, coquō, concoquō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“devise” in Latin

excōgitōto contrive, devise or invent (by thinking); to think up or create out of nothing inveniōto find; to discover, find out, learn; to come upon, meet with fingōto shape, fashion, form, knead (dough); to touch, touch gently, stroke, stroke gently, handle; to adorn, dress, arrange comminīscorto devise, contrive, invent coquōto cook; prepare food; to ripen; to roast, dry concoquōto boil or seethe together, cook thoroughly; concoct; to prepare, ripen, mature; to digest māchinorto devise, invent; to plot evil, contrive ēmentiorto lie; to fabricate, pretend, feign mendāciumA lie, untruth, falsehood, fiction.; An illusion, counterfeit.

The English word devise itself goes back to Latin dīvidō, through devisō.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

devise

excogitare: cogitatione assequi: invenire (think out; make out by thinking, etc.): fingere: comminisci (feign, imagine; of something bad; fingere causas, Ter.: comminisci dolum, mendacium). (The words are found in this connection and order.) fabricari et comminisci (Plaut.); reperire et comminisci (Plaut.): coquere: concoquere (hatch; concoct plots, etc., consilia clandestina; bellum, etc.): machinari (to form some crafty device): ementiri (to devise something false; aliquid in aliquem). To devise crafty plans, etc., dolos nectere, procudere (comedy): to devise a new way of doing anything, novam alicujus rei faciendae rationem excogitare: to devise anything for a purpose, excogitare rem ad aliquid: to devise the means of making anybody unpopular, quaerere invidiam in aliquem: to devise plots against anybody, insidias comparare, parare alicui (Cic.), moliri (Verg.); against anybody’s life, insidias facere or ponere vitae alicujus (Cic.). I am thinking what means I can devise of, etc., id mecum sic agito et comparo, quo pacto, etc., with subjunctive (e.g., magnam molem minuam, Att., ap. Non.).

Bequeath by will; Vid: BEQUEATH.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for devise?: The usual Latin words for “devise” are excōgitō, inveniō, fingō; also comminīscor, coquō, concoquō. 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.