English → Latin
“downfall” in Latin
occāsussetting (of the sun etc.); westintereōto go among, become lost in; to disappear, vanish; to be ruined, undoneruīnaa falling down, collapse, ruin, destruction; ruins, debris; ruins, debrisexitiuma going out, egress; destruction, ruin; the cause of destruction or ruinrēspūblicaa republic, commonwealth; the state, nation; politics, civil affairslēxthe legal machinery of a state, the law; a law, statute, bill; the laws regarded as a body, the constitution
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
downfall
occasus (e.g., reipublicae): obitus occasusque (used by Cic., in speaking of his exile). (The words are found in this connection and order.) obitus et interitus: casus interitusque (e.g., reipublicae): interitus (e.g., legum): ruinae (the downfall; overthrow of a man’s fortunes, etc.): exitium (tragical end of a person or thing). The downfall of the empire, totius imperii occasus: to try to effect anybody’s downfall, alicui perniciem struere, parare, moliri: to conspire to effect it, consentire ad opprimendum aliquem. Vid: DESTRUCTION.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for downfall?
- The usual Latin words for “downfall” are occāsus, intereō, ruīna; also exitium, rēspūblica, lēx. 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.