English → Latin
“edify” in Latin
alōto feed, to nourish, to nurture; to cultivate, to raise, to rear, etc. (as a child, an animal, etc.); to cause (a thing)cōnfirmōto make firm, establish, re-establish, strengthen, fortify, mature, confirm; to encourage, animate, embolden; persuade;
The English word edify itself goes back to Latin aedēs, through aedificare.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
edify
*pios sensus in animo alicujus excitare (G.); or excitare atque alere (K.); *animos virtutis or rerum divinarum studio imbuere (K.): to be edified, *salubriter moneri: to edify others by his life, example, etc., *vita, or exemplo in aliis honestatis, or virtutis studium excitare, or alere: his sermon has edified me, *oratio ejus pietatis sensus in animo meo excitavit or confirmavit: a means of edifying, *pietatis incitamentum, adjumentum (Bau.).
Build, Vid.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for edify?
- The usual Latin words for “edify” are alō, cōnfirmō. 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.