What is the Latin word for fever?

The usual Latin words for “fever” are febris, quārtānus, tertiānus; also quārtus, frīgidus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“fever” in Latin

febrisfever quārtānusfourth (e.g. on the fourth day, of the fourth legion etc.)tertiānusbelonging to the third quārtusfourth frīgiduscold, cool, chilling, frigid; indifferent, feeble; dull, flat, insipid, trivial, pointless, vain

The English word fever itself goes back to Latin febris.

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

fever

febris. Fevers, febrium valetudines (as a class of disorders, Plin.). A tertian, quartan fever, febris tertiana, quartana; mostly tertiana, quartana only; also, febris tertiis (quartis) diebus decurrens (Vid: Gell., 17, 12, in.): a hot, cold, slow, putrid fever, febris ardens, frigida, lenta (or tenui peste repens, Sen., Ep., 95, opposed to the febrium genus impetu saevientium). *putrida: to catch or take a fever, in febrim inefdere; febrim nancisci; febri corripi: to have a fever, febrim habere, pati: affectum esse febri (general term for having the disorder); febrire; aestu febrique jactari (to be in a fever); febricitare (to be feverish, to have a fever): to have no fever, febri carere: to recover from a quartan fever, quartanam passum convalescere, viresque integras recuperare (Gell.): the fever begins, febris accedit, incipit; increases, augetur, increscit; is diminished, levatur, conquiescit (Cels., 2, 8); decrescit; returns, repetit; continues, continuat; leaves anybody, decedit, ab aliquo discedit, desinit, finitur (☞ not relinquit aliquem); aliquis febre (Cels.), or a febre (Plin.), liberatur: to drive away a fever, cure a fever, febrim abigere, discutere: to bring back the fever, febrim reducere: to cause a fever, febrim afferre: when the fever is most violent, in ipso febris impetu: to return home with a fever, cum febri domum redire: to be ill, but without any fever, sine febri laborare. If the fever continues, si febris manet (Cels.): a slight fever, febricula.

fever v.

febrim afferre.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for fever?: The usual Latin words for “fever” are febris, quārtānus, tertiānus; also quārtus, frīgidus. 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.