English → Latin
“extenuation” in Latin
extenuātiōa thinning or diminishing, rarefaction; a lessening, diminution, extenuation; as a rhetorical figure, translating the Anexcūsātiōexcuse
The English word extenuation itself goes back to Latin tenuō, through extenuātiō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
extenuation
extenuatio (as an oratorical figure; the weakening the force of an accusation, Cic., Quint..): imminutio criminis (Quint.; but in a formal division of the kinds of defence): (aliqua) excusatio, or aliquid excusationis, may often do. To admit of some extenuation, habere aliquid excusationis (Cic.). It is no extenuation of your crime that you committed it in behalf of a friend, nulla est excusatio peccati, si amici causa peccaveris: to plead anything in extenuation of a crime, excusare aliquid (accusative of the thing pleaded in excuse).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for extenuation?
- The usual Latin words for “extenuation” are extenuātiō, excūsātiō. 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.