English → Latin
“fain” in Latin
libēnsready, willing, eager; with pleasure, with good will; glad, cheerful, merryvolōto wish, to please; to want; to mean, to intend
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
fain adj.
Anybody was fain to do anything, fecit aliquis animo lubentissimo, ut, etc. (Cic.; if the notion of glad consent is prominent); coactus est aliquid facere (if the notion of compulsion is prominent); non recusavit aliquid facere, or non modo non recusavit aliquid facere, sed etiam libenter, etc.: facile pati (with accusative and infinitive).
fain adv.
libenter (or lubenter); animo libenti or libenti proclivoque; non invito animo [Vid: GLADLY]. Often by circumlocution with velle, or by nominative, lubens, volens, non invitus. I would fain, velim, vellem (the present expressing rather an inner necessity, urgency; the imperfect referring more to a condition; if this were but possible).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for fain?
- The usual Latin words for “fain” are libēns, volō. 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.