LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
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“income” in Latin

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

income
vectigal: vectigalia (not only of public revenue, but also of private income from rents, etc.; often used by Cic. in this sense; e.g., Off., 2, 25, 88; Parad. 6, 3): reditus (always in sing.; the return that anything makes; profit from anything): fructus (that which anything produces; the profit from it; e.g., of landed estates): pecunia, also reditus pecuniae (the hard cash that one receives): quaestus (the gain which accrues from a speculation, from capital, etc.). Professional income, muneris commoda, plur.: he has a fair, a considerable income, habet unde utatur or vivat: he has a very sufficient income, *habet, unde commode vivat. Income received from anything, pecunia, quae redit ex aliqua re; or pecuniae, quas facio ex aliqua re (e.g., from mines, ex metallis); fructus alicujus rei or quem aliqua res reddit (e.g., fructus praediorum or quem praedia reddunt). To derive an income from any source, pecunias facere or capere ex aliqua re: to afford income, in reditu esse: to be a steady source of income; to afford so much income every year, reditum statum praestare (Plin., Ep., 3, 19, 5): after all expenses are paid, I shall have a small surplus from my little income, ex meo tenui vectigali, detractis sumtibus, aliquid tamen redundabit: 1 am hoarding up all my income, for the purchase of, etc., omnes meas vindemiolas eo reservo, ut... (parem, etc., Cic.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for income?
The usual Latin words for “income” are vectīgal, reditus, fruor; also pecūnia, quaestus, vīvō. 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.