LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
English → Latin

“foul” in Latin

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

foul adj.
foedus (offending natural feeling, and exciting loathing and aversion; in nearly every meaning of the English word; of what is foul either outwardly, inwardly, physically, or morally; including even “foul weather,” foedae tempestates; Liv., 25, 7, 7; ☞ Verg., Georg., 1, 323): teter (hideous, shocking, exciting fear or shuddering): spurcus (probably sibilated from porcus = swinish: of coarse physical or moral filth; also, of “foul weather,” tempestas spurcissima, Cic., Frag. ap. Non., 394, 2): turpis (offending the moral feeling, and exciting disapprobation and contempt). (The words are found in this connection and order.) turpis et foedus; turpis et inhonestus: obscenus (morally unclean, obscene): non purus (opposed to purus): impurus (morally unclean, impure). A foul monster, immane ac foedum monstrum (in superlative, Cic.); homo impurus (Terentianus); persona lutulenta, impura (Cic.); homo impurus impudicusque; caput (post homines natos) deterrimum ac spurcissimum (Cic.): foul linen, *lintea sordida: foul water [Vid: IMPURE]: foul land, spurcus ager (Col., Praef., 25): a vessel that is foul, spurcum atque pollutum vas (Gell.): a foul crime, nefarium facinus (e.g., admittere, Caes.); tetrum or immane facinus (Cic.); foedum facinus (Terentianus): foul deeds or crimes, res turpes; flagitia; nefaria (plur. adjective): there is or has been some foul play, dolus or aliquid doli subest: by fair means or foul, [Vid: under FAIR, adjective]: to use foul means (opposed to fair means), vim facere: to fall foul of anything, incurrere in aliquid; of anybody, incurrere atque incidere in aliquem: to fall foul of each other, inter se collidi: to be a foul feeder, in pabulatione spurce versari (of a hog; Col.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for foul?
The usual Latin words for “foul” are foedus, taeter, spurcus; also turpis, obscēnus, impūrus. 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.