English → Latin
“inspire” in Latin
excitōto call forth: to rouse, awaken, summon; to bring forth: to raise, build; to bring out: to encourage, revive, excite, stincendōto set on fire, burn, kindle; to heat, make hot, scorch; to light up with fire, make a fire uponīnflammōto ignite, inflame; to excite, inflame, enkindle, set afire or on fire, ignitelaetitiajoy, gladness, happiness, pleasure, delight
The English word inspire itself goes back to Latin spīrō, through īnspīrō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
inspire
PROPR., alicujus mentem divino afflatu or alicujus animum divino instinctu concitare: to be inspired, spiritu divino tangi; divino quodam spiritu inflari; divino instinctu concitari.
FIG., To render highly excited, excitare: incendere: inflammare (general terms, to raise one’s mind, to inflame): laetitia or gaudio perfundere: totum ad se convertere et rapere (to gratify to the utmost, to charm, enrapture). To be inspired, mentis viribus excitari; ardore aliquo inflammari atque incitari: to be inspired with joy, totum in laetitiam effusum esse; beatum esse omnibus laetitiis (to be quite entranced with joy; Coecilius, ap. Cic., Fin., 2, 4, 13): to speak like an inspired person, orationem ad sensus motusque animorum inflammandos admovere: wine inspires a man, vinum ingenium facit (Ov., Met., 7, 433).
Inspire with anything, injicere alicui aliquid (to instill, infuse into anybody; as desire of battle, hope): implere aliquem aliqua re (to fill; e.g., spe animoque): tenere aliquem (to restrain, fetter one): to be inspired with zeal for anything, alicujus rei studio teneri: to inspire anybody with eagerness for battle, aliquem alacriorem ad pugnandum efficere (of a circumstance, etc.; Vid: Caes., B.G., 3, 24): to be inspired with a desire of fighting, magna alacritas studiumque pugnandi magnum alicui injectum est; to be inspired with fresh courage, accedit mihi animus; alacriorem fieri (☞ not animari, although in Tac., Germ., 29, 3, it is = ferociores reddi).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for inspire?
- The usual Latin words for “inspire” are excitō, incendō, īnflammō; also laetitia. 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.