English → Latin
“famous” in Latin
inclŭtuscelebratedcelebrōto go to a place or person in large numbers or often; throng, frequent, fill; to practise, employ, exercise, repeat; to illūstrisbright, shining, brilliant, lustrous; clear, lucid; illustrious, distinguished, famous, prominentclārusclear, bright; renowned, famous, famed, distinguished, illustrious, celebrated, glorious; upstanding, respectedpraeclārusvery clear or bright; famous; noble, excellentnōbilisnoble, high-born; distinct, able to be known, famous, celebrated; known, famous; acquainted, familiarglōriaglory, renown, fame, honorbellumwar
The English word famous itself goes back to Latin fāma, through fāmōsus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
famous
inclytus or inclutus (known by name, of name, of note, remarkable): celebratus (celebrated, praised): illustris: perillustris (that shines forth before others, distinguished): clarus: praeclarus (that has stepped forth out of obscurity, distinguished; clarus, according to its signification, frequently with a word joined to it, as, gloria, bello, pace, etc.; Vid: Herz., Sall., Cat., 3, 1): nobilis (known, of note in the world; known by report among mankind, by service, knowledge, etc.). (The words are found in this connection and order.) nobilis et clarus. ☞ Celeber, much visited and sought after, and much spoken of, is used of places at which there is a great concourse of men, and of teachers who have a large auditory. In the Golden Age, famosus has only the signification “infamous.” Very famous, illustri laude celebratus; claritate praestans: famous for learning, nobilis et clarus ex doctrina: to be famous, gloria florere; esse in laude: to be very famous, gloria circumfluere; omnium sermone celebrari; in magno nomine et gloria esse: magna celebritate famae esse: to be very famous as a speaker, magnum in oratoribus nomen habere: he is famous far and wide, ejus nomen longe atque late vagatur: to become famous, nominis famam adipisci; gloriam consequi or assequi; in gloriam venire; in claritudinem pervenire; crescere (Ruhnken, Ter. Heaut. Prolog., 28: ☞ clarescere and inclarescere belong to the Silver Age): to become famous by anything, illustrari aliqua re; clarum fieri re or ex re: to render famous, celebrare, illustrare, nobilitare (this also of an event or occurrence, as, of a battle which renders a place famous), aliquem et aliquid; gloriae commendare, gloria afficere aliquem (of a deed, etc.), alicui famam conficere; illustrem reddere aliquem: to make one’s self famous, gloriam or famam sibi acquirere, comparare claritudinem sibi parare: to desire to make one’s self famous, gloriam quaerere, sequi; famae studere, servire, inservire.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for famous?
- The usual Latin words for “famous” are inclŭtus, celebrō, illūstris; also clārus, praeclārus, nōbilis. 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.