English → Latin
“immerse” in Latin
immergōto immerse, plunge intomergōto dip (in), immerse; plunge into water; drown; to overwhelm; to cover, burydēmergōto sink or submerge, plunge into; to overwhelm, depress; to bury
The English word immerse itself goes back to Latin in, through immersus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
immerse
PROPR., immergere (e.g., immersus in flumen, Cic.): mergere (in aliquid; aliqua re): demergere (in aliquid; [in] aliqua re; e.g., in palude demersus; in fossas... demersus): submergere (aliqua re; submersus voraginibus). To be immersed, mergi: immergi.
IMPROPR., demergere (e.g., in debt, aere alieno demersus): mergere (e.g., aliquem malis, Verg.; se in voluptates, Liv.): immergere (e.g., studiis, Sen.). ☞ It is better to say alicui rei se totum dedere than alicui rei se immergere, after se studiis immergere (Sen.): ☞ submergere, IMPROP., is very rare and post-classical, virtus submersa tenebris (Claudius). Immersed in debt, aere alieno demersus (Liv.) or obrutus [Vid: DEBT]: to be immersed in pleasures, mergi in voluptates (Curt.); avide in voluptates se mersisse (Liv., 23, 18); in a train of thought, se totum in alicujus rei cognitione collocare: immersed in business, occupationibus or negotiis implicatus, or negotia, occupationes, etc., multis officiis implicatum et constrictum tenent aliquem: to be immersed in litterary pursuits, in litteras or litteris (ablative) se abdere (abdidisse).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for immerse?
- The usual Latin words for “immerse” are immergō, mergō, dēmergō. 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.