LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
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“grate” in Latin

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

grate s.
A partition of iron bars, cancelli: clathri (the clathri were smaller; e.g., lattice-work in windows, doors, etc.; the wooden bars or iron rods composing them were perpendicular and horizontal; so that the openings were, of course, rectangular: in the cancelli one set of bars or rods was either perpendicular or oblique, the other set being arranged obliquely on these, so that the openings were not rectangular. The cancelli were used, e.g., in the circus, and as partition rails, etc.; Vid: Varr., R.R., 3, 3): transenna (wire-work, so narrow as almost to prevent people from looking through it; Cic., De Or., 1, 85, extr.): made like a grate, cancellatim.
In a stove or fire-place, fortax (Vid: Schneider, Cat. R.R., 38, p. 102).
grate v.
TRANS., and INTRANS.,
To wear anything by the attrition of a rough body, terere (to rub off): conterere (to rub into small parts): deterere (e.g., frumentum, squillam, etc.): fricare (to scrape): aliquid in pulverem conterere (to grate to dust): terere aliquid in farinam (to meal, Plin., 34, 18, 50). To grate one’s teeth, dentibus stridere (of a sick person, Cels., 2, 6; dentibus frendere is “to gnash the teeth”).
To furnish with a grate, clathrare (also written clatrare); cancellare [SYN. in GRATE]. Grated, ad cancellorum or clathrorum speciem factus (Vid: Varr., R.R., 3, 5, 4, made like gratings); clathratus; cancellatus (fitted up, respectively, with clathri or cancelli): a grated door, fores clathratae: cancelli (a larger one, a grating): a grated window, fenestra clathrata; transenna [Vid: in GRATE].
To offend by anything harsh, offendere: laedere: violare: pungere: mordere [Vid: To OFFEND]. Anything grates against my feelings, habeo ad rem aliquam offensionem atque fastidium: aliquid mihi offensioni est: vehementer mihi displicet aliquid: to grate the ear, aures or auriculas radere (Quint., 3, 1, 3: Persius, 1, 107).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for grate?
The usual Latin words for “grate” are cancelli, clāthrī, trānsenna; also fortāx, cancellātim, terō. 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.