LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
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“expense” in Latin

The English word expense itself goes back to Latin pendō, through expēnsa.

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

expense
sumtus (both as expenditure and as sum expended; considered as diminishing wealth and capital; similar to our “expense,” and like this sometimes with the idea of excess and squandering; ☞ Liv., 1, 20; unde in eos sumtus pecunia erogaretur): impensa (disbursement; the outlay of money, etc., which is made or which it is necessary to make; ☞ Liv., 44, 23, in: quia impensa pecuniae facienda erat): impendium (mostly plur.; once only in Cic.; charges, expenses which arise, are occasioned, in Liv., 7, 21, opposed to jactura, i. e., a sacrifice which one makes; hence, also, impendio alicujus = to the detriment, prejudice of any one): jacturae (expenses of a magistrate who spends his money to gain the favor of the people). (The words are found in this connection and order.) sumtus jacturaeque. ☞ Both sumtus and impensa or impendium are used also in the plur., if great and various expenses are spoken of: arbitria, orum, plur., (dues which must be paid on any solemn act to the persons assisting at it; e.g., at a funeral, funeris). Immense expenses, sumtus infiniti. ☞ Not expensa, expensae; but expensa pecunia (outlay) is correct. Household expenses, sumtus domesticus. A book of receipts and expenses, tabulae or codex accepti et impensi: necessary expenses, sumtus necessarii: to lessen or curtail expenses, sumtus minuere, remittere, circumcidere: to limit one’s expenses, modum facere sumtibus: to avoid unnecessary expenses, sumtus supervacaneos vitare (Sen.): the public expenses, impensae publicae: at the expense of anybody, sumtu alicujus; de pecunia alicujus; alicujus impensis; alicujus impendio; cum damno alicujus (to the loss of anybody): at one’s own expense, privato sumtu; impendio privato (at one’s own charge); sua pecunia (from one’s own money); de suo (from one’s own); ex sua re familiari (e.g., muros reficere, Nep.): at the public expense, publico sumtu; de publico; publice (so that the state bears the expense); impensa publica (so that the state furnishes the money); impendio publico (so that charges are occasioned to the state): at a great expense, magna impensa: without expense, nulla impensa, nullo sumto: with no expense to you, sine sumtu tuo: to live at anybody’s expense, alicujus impensis ali (after Nep., Phoc., 1, 4): to endeavor to enrich one’s self at the expense of others, incommodo aliorum suum commodum augere: at the expense (to the detriment) of health, cum damno valetudinis: he saves money at the expense of his health, tam parcus et continens est, ut necessitates valetudinis restringat frugalitate: a thing is too dear, if procured at the expense of honesty, nimium est alicujus rei pretium, si probitatis impendio constat (Vid: Quint., 6, 3, 35): at the expense of another’s good name, sub aliena invidia (☞ Liv., 24, 25, 2): to be at expense, sumtum or sumtus facere: to occasion expense (of a thing), impendia facere (e.g., of a state; Vid: Plin., Ep., 10, 57 (52) in.): to occasion expense to anybody, sumtum alicui afferre, sumtui alicui esse (of persons and things): not to be the least expense to anybody, alicui ne minimo quidem sumtui esse: to be at expense (about anything), sumtum or impensam, or impensam et sumtum facere in rem; sumtum impendere or insumere in rem; sumtum ponere in re: to bestow expense and trouble upon anything, sumtum et laborem insumere in rem (after Cic., De Invent., 2, 38, 113); laborem et sumtum impendere in rem: to bestow trouble and expense upon anything in vain, operam et oleum perdere (proverbially): to bear the expense, sumtus sufferre, pati, tolerare (Terentianus): to bear or meet the expense from any source, impensas tolerare ab aliqua re (Vid: Plin., 12, 14, 32, unde impensae publicae tolerantur): to repay the expenses of anything, quod impensae in aliquid factum est praestare (☞ impensas restituere is not Latin): to spare neither expense nor trouble, nec impensae nec labori parcere: spare no expense, sumtui ne parcas; argento parci nolo: to spare no expense in procuring or in the purchase of anything, aliquid animosissime comparare (Suet., Caes., 47): animosiorem alicujus rei emptorem esse (Javolenus, Dig., 17, 1, 36, § 1): that spares no expense, animosus (e.g., corruptor, Tac., Hist., 1, 24, 2; emptor, Javolenus, Dig., 17, 1, 36, § 1): to charge expenses to the account of anybody, sumtum alicui inferre: to cover the expenses, quod impensae factum est in rem, efficere (e.g., of an estate bringing back what has been spent upon it; after Liv., 2, 18): aliquid sarcit or resarcit sumtum suum (after Ter., Heaut., 1, 1, 91, Ruhnken); omnem impensam alicujus rei pretio suo liberare (Col., 3, 3). I do not cover my expenses (e.g., in the management of an estate, etc.), impendia exsuperant reditum. These expenses eat up all the profit, in hos sumtus abeunt fructus praediorum.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for expense?
The usual Latin words for “expense” are impēnsa, impendium, iaciō; also arbitrium, tabula. 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.