English → Latin
“grandfather” in Latin
avusgrandfather; ancestor; progenitor; forefather; forebear; old manmāternusof or pertaining to a mother, maternal; related through the mother, or her side of the familyprōsocergrandfather of one's wifePaulusA cognomen of the Aemilius clan.; Paul (biblical figure).proavusgreat-grandfather; forefather, ancestor
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
grandfather
avus (also with the addition of paternus, on the father’s side; maternus, on the mother’s): a wife’s grandfather, prosocer: grandfather’s brother, patruua magnus (Paullus, Dig., 38, 10, 10, § 15): grandfather’s sister, amita magna (Gai., Dig., 38, 10, 1, and Paullus, Dig., 38, 10, 10): great-grandfather, proavus.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for grandfather?
- The usual Latin words for “grandfather” are avus, māternus, prōsocer; also Paulus, proavus. 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.