English → Latin
“enlighten” in Latin
collūstrōto illuminate, brighten; to inspect, surveyillūstrōto illuminate, brighten, light up; to elucidate, explain, make clear; to make famous, render illustriousillūminōto illuminate, light up, brighten; to adorn; to make conspicuous
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
enlighten
collustrare (to impart some of one’s own light to anything; only PROP.): illustrare (to place in light; PROP., and figuratively): illuminare (to give light to anything; especially figuratively, to cover with luminous points. None of these words were used of enlightening the mind). The sun enlightens the whole world, sol omnia luce sua illustrat (al. better collustrat): to be enlightened by the sun, sole illustrem esse. To enlighten the mind, ab animo, tamquam ab oculis, caliginem dispellere: to enlighten the understanding, mentem fingere: an enlightened man, *homo meliore rerum cognitione imbutus: an enlightened understanding, ingenium subactum (but only in Cic., De Or., 2, 30, 131, where the mind is compared to a well-tilled field); ingenii acumen or acies: enlightened days, culta aetas; tempora erudita (Cic., De Rep., 2, 10); cultiora tempora et ingeuia: an enlightened nation, gens humana atque docta (Cic.): to enlighten the world, *ignorantiae tenebras discutere.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for enlighten?
- The usual Latin words for “enlighten” are collūstrō, illūstrō, illūminō. 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.