What is the Latin word for fasten?

The usual Latin words for “fasten” are astringō, alligō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“fasten” in Latin

astringōto draw close, bind or tie together; tighten, contract; to check, repress, restrain; to put under obligation, oblige, ne alligōto bind to, up or around something, tie, fetter, fasten; bandage; to hold fast, hinder, detain; to oblige, lay under obl

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

fasten

To make fast, destinare ad aliquid or alicui rei, or absolutely, (to make fast, especially with ropes, funes, qui antennas ad malos destinant, Caes., ; destinare naves ancoris exquatuor angulis, Caes.) astringere, alligare, deligare ad aliquid; illigare in re (to tie to or on anything): annectere aliquid ad rem or alicui rei (to fasten by tying): assuere alicui rei (to fasten by sewing on): defigere alicui rei or in re; infigere alicui rei or in rem (to fix into with a hammer): figere alicui rei or in re: affigere alicui rei or ad aliquid (general term to join to anything): agglutinare alicui rei or ad aliquid (to fasten by glueing; to solder, etc.) ferruminare (to fasten with solder, putty, or any other stuff; e.g., with bitumen, bitumine; lead, plumbo; mostly with the addition of the stuff that is used to effect the combination). To fasten anything with nails, clavis aliquid figere; to anything, clavis affigere or configere aliquid alicui rei: to fasten with a pin, *aliquid acu affigere.

IMPROPR., To fasten a reproach upon anybody, probrum, labem, or infamiam alicui inferre (cf: Cic., Coel., 18, 42); labem or labeculam alicui aspergere; infamia aliquem aspergere: a reproach that, will stick to him, maculam aternam alicui inurere: to fasten one’s eyes on anybody, oculos defigere in vultu alicujus: to fasten a door, etc. [Vid: To SHUT].

To impress upon; Vid: To IMPRESS.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for fasten?: The usual Latin words for “fasten” are astringō, alligō. 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.