English → Latin
“earnestness” in Latin
sevēritāsseriousness, gravity, sternness, strictness, severitygravitāsweight, heaviness; gravity, seriousness; severity, harshnessaustēritāsbitterness, harshness, sourness, astringency; darkness, dinginess, sombreness; severity, austerity, strictness, sternnesstudiumstudy; eagerness, zeal; desire, fancycontentiōstretching, tension; competition, rivalry; struggle, effortstrēnuitāsnimbleness, briskness, vivacity, activitytrīstitiasadness, sorrow, melancholy, sloth; the (sad) state of things; moroseness, sourness
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
earnestness
Seriousness, severitas (as seated in the mind): gravitas (as making an impression upon others): austeritas (as avoiding the trivial and frivolous, and seeking for what is solid and real, even at the risk of being thought dull). A sad earnestness, tristis severitas: tristitia: tristitia et severitas.
Eagerness, studium: contentio: studium acre: strenuitas (as showing itself habitually in action): to prosecute anything with earnestness, urgere rem (e.g., studia sua): with all earnestness, omni cogitatione curaque in rem incumbere: ponere totum animum atque diligentiam in re; totum et mente et animo in re insistere: to do anything with earnestness, animi impetu agere aliquid.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for earnestness?
- The usual Latin words for “earnestness” are sevēritās, gravitās, austēritās; also studium, contentiō, strēnuitās. 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.