English → Latin
“elect” in Latin
creōto create, to give existence to, to form, to make, to produce, to originate out of other materials or (post-Classical) ocapiōto take, to capture, to catch, to seize, to take captive, to storm; to take on, adopt; to hold, to containlegōto collect, gather, bring together, catch; to choose, select; to appointēligōto choose, to pluck or root out, extract; to pick out, choose, electdēligōto pick off, pluck off; to cull; to choose or select; to enroll, levycooptōto choose, elect; to co-optdēsignōto mark; to trace out; to outline, describedēclārōto declare or announce; to indicate, reveal or testify; to show or prove
The English word elect itself goes back to Latin legō, through ēlēctus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
elect
creare (the proper word of the constitutional election of a magistrate, or even a king): capere (when the elected person is taken, without or against his will, from his family circle, as was the case with the Vestal Virgins and the Flamen Dialis): legere (to choose with reference to the qualities required for the office): eligere (to make a choice out of several persons; not to take the first that comes to hand). (The words are found in this connection and order.) eligere et creare (e.g., a king): deligere (to make a choice of him who seems fittest for the office in question): cooptare (to elect a colleague into the body of which the elector is himself a member): designare (to appoint to an office after a previous election): declarare (to declare a person elected; said either of the presiding magistrate or of the people assembled in their Comitia). To elect a senator, aliquem in senatum legere or cooptare: to elect a man consul, aliquem consulem creare: to elect an arbiter, capere arbitrum: to elect anybody into the place of another, subrogare, sufficere aliquem in alicujus locum (subrogare of the presiding magistrate who proposes the person to the people, sufficere, of the people itself).
elect
as adjective, electus: a Deo electus (in theological sense). The consul elect, consul designatus.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for elect?
- The usual Latin words for “elect” are creō, capiō, legō; also ēligō, dēligō, cooptō. 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.