English → Latin
“distil” in Latin
stīllōto drip, drop, trickle; to distildēstīllōto drip or trickle down; to distilcoquōto cook; prepare food; to ripen; to roast, dry
The English word distil itself goes back to Latin stīllō, through distīllāre.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
distil
INTRANS., stillare (absolutely or mella de ilice, Ov.; unguenta e capillo, Tib.): destillare (either humor destillat; or arbor destillat aliqua re; e.g., odore miro suavitatis).
TRANS., stillare (e.g., rorem ex oculis, Hor.; also aliqua re: the stars distill blood, sidera stillant sanguine, Ov.).
Chemically, *succos elicere e, etc.; coquere (general term for preparing by heat). ☞ Pliny uses the general term, vinum for the various sorts of liquors, distilled from dales, the palm-tree, etc. (Vid: Hist., Nat., 6, 26, 32; 13, 4, 6, and 9).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for distil?
- The usual Latin words for “distil” are stīllō, dēstīllō, coquō. 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.