English → Latin
“execrate” in Latin
exsecrorto curse or execrate; to detestdēvoveōto vow, offer; promise; devote, dedicate; to mark out, appoint, destine; (poetic) to bewitch, curse (by devoting to the
The English word execrate itself goes back to Latin sacer, through exsecrārī.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
execrate v.
exsecrari: male precari (Cic., Pis., 14, 33): devovere: detestari in caput alicujus minas et pericula: detestari in caput alicujus iram deorum: ☞ not detestari alone: ☞ exsecrari means “to curse,” when one would exclude a guilty person from human society as devoted to the infernal gods, in opposition to blessing; detestari means “to curse,” when one wishes to deprecate evil by an appeal to the gods against a person or thing; in opposition to “praying in behalf of :” devovere (also with diris) is to devote to the infernal gods. Vid: To CURSE.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for execrate?
- The usual Latin words for “execrate” are exsecror, dēvoveō. 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.