LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
English → Latin

“excuse” in Latin

The English word excuse itself goes back to Latin causa, through excuso.

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

excuse v.
excusare; to anyone, alicui or apud aliquem: purgare (to justify) to anyone, alicui or apud aliquem [SYN. in EXCUSE, s.] : excusationem alicujus rei afferre (to bring forward an excuse for anything): veniam alicujus rei dare (to pardon): to excuse one’s self, se excusare, se purgare; from anything, de aliqua re: to excuse one’s self on the plea of anything, excusare aliquid (e.g., on the plea of sickness, etc., excusare morbum, valetudinem; excusatione valetudinis uti); aliquid alicujus rei excusatione defendere: to excuse one’s self against anyone, uti excusatione adversus aliquem: to excuse one’s self satisfactorily to anyone, satisfacere alicui (Vid: Caes., B.G. 1, 41; ☞ Cortte, Cic., ad Fam., 5, 13, 3): purgare se alicui: to wish or endeavor to excuse one’s self to anyone, parare excusationem ad aliquem: to endeavor in every way and manner to excuse one’s self, omnes excusationis causas colligere (Hirt., B.G., 8, praef. extr.). No man can excuse himself by saying that the sin was committed in behalf of a friend, nulla est excusatio peccati, si amici causa peccaveris (Cic.): a desperate shift to excuse one’s self, perfugium, quod sumo mihi ad excusationem (Cic.): anything excuses you, aliquid dat tibi (justam) excusationem (Cic.): to excuse one’s self by throwing the blame on another, culpam in aliquem transferre: to pray to be excused on the ground of, excusare aliquid (Vid: above): deprecari aliquid excusatione (alicujus rei).
excuse s.
excusatio: purgatio: satisfactio (purgatio is a full justification, the clearing one’s self from a suspicion or accusation; excusatio, the partial and relative excuse, it being acknowledged that the thing is or seems to be wrong; but one’s innocence being asserted: satisfactio is the satisfaction made to the feelings of another by a purgatio or excusatio, if one is innocent; by a veniae petitio, or a poena, if one is guilty): causa, latebra (a false excuse to which one has recourse). To allege an excuse, excusatione uti, excusationem afferre; on account of anything, alicujus rei: to plead anything as an excuse, excusare aliquid (e.g., morbum); deprecari, followed by an accusative and infinitive (to say by way of excuse, in a supplicating tone, Sall., Jug., 104, 4): to allege any evasive excuse, se conjicere in latebram: to accept an excuse, excusationem, satisfactionem accipere: not to accept, etc., excusationem non accipere, non probare: to look about for some excuse, excusationem, latebram quaerere: a ground of excuse, excusatio: to plead all manner of excuses, omnes excusationis causas colligere; that not etc., ne etc. (Hirt., B.G., 8, praef. extr.). It is no sufficient excuse to say, etc., nulla est excusatio peccati, si dixeris, etc. (feceris, etc., etc.) A sufficient excuse, satis justa, or justa et idonea excusatio: to admit of no excuse, nihil excusationis habere; excusationem non habere; alicui rei venia nulla proponitur (Cic., all of things). No excuse for non-attendance was admitted, nemini civi ulla, quominus adesset, satis justa excusatio visa est (Cic.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for excuse?
The usual Latin words for “excuse” are excūsō, pūrgō, excūsātiō; also pūrgātiō, satisfactiō, causa. 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.