What is the Latin word for hearsay?

The usual Latin words for “hearsay” are audītiō, fāma, audiō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“hearsay” in Latin

audītiōa listening, hearing; a rumor, hearsay, report; a lesson, instruction, lecture fāmafame; rumour, talk, opinion, report; reputation audiōto hear, listen to; to attend, pay attention to; to accept, agree with, obey

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

hearsay

auditio: levis auditio (e.g., to act upon hearsay; levem auditionem pro re comperta habere, to believe any unauthenticated report): fama (a report). (The words are found in this connection and order.) fama et auditio. It is, however, better, in most cases, to use circumlocution with audire: I know this from hearsay, haec auditu comperta habeo; haec auditione et fama accepi: I know it only from hearsay, nihil praster auditum habeo: I state this not from hearsay, but from my own experience, haec non auditum, sed cognitum praedicamus.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for hearsay?: The usual Latin words for “hearsay” are audītiō, fāma, audiō. 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.