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“drinking” in Latin

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

drinking
potio (the taking in of a fluid, and also the draught drunk): potus (drinking; but with reference to what is drunk, not to the act; immoderato obstupefacta potu atque pastu, Cic., In the sense of “carousing” it is post- Augustan; in potu atque hilaritate, Plin.): potatio (hard drinking; drinking large draughts, but modicae potationes is good Latin; Cic.): sorbitio (the sipping in of a liquid, as action, and what is thus sipped, a potion, medicine): cf., In modern writers we find bibitio and bibitus, which, however, are quite unclassical. Moderate drinking, potio modica; potus moderatus; moderate eating and drinking, temperatae escae modicaeque potiones: while in the act of drinking, in media, potione: inter bibendum: a drinking-cup or vessel; [Vid: CUP]: a drinking-companion, combibo, compotor: fond of drinking, ebriosus: to be fond of drinking, vino deditum esse vinolentum esse (to be a drinker); ebriosum esse; also potare (i. e., to drink hard); vino indulgere: fondness for drinking, ebriositas (Cic., Tusc., 4, 12, 27); vinolentia (propensity for drinking wine): to spend whole days in drinking, totos dies potare or perpotare; perpotare ad vesperum (from morn till night). Eating and drinking is usually cibus et potio (e.g., cibo et potione completum esse); and Krebs condemns potus altogether; but Cic., uses it in speaking of the mind, cum ea pars animi - immoderato sit obstupefacta potu atque pastu.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for drinking?
The usual Latin words for “drinking” are pōtiō, pōtō, pōtātiō; also sorbitiō, bibitiō, bibō. 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.