English → Latin
“instrument” in Latin
īnstrūmentumAn instrument, tool, utensil; supply, provision; paraphernalia, equipmentorganuman implement, instrument, tool; any musical instrumentlitteraletter (of the alphabet); handwriting; letter, epistletabulatablet, sometimes a tablet covered with wax for writing; board or plank; map, painting, document or other item put onto fidēsfaith; belief (belief without empirical evidence, direct experience, or observation); reliance (act of relying on or trucornū̆horn; antler; tusk; the horns of the moontībiathe large shin bone, tibia; leg; a pipe, flute (originally of bone)tubalong trumpet over 1 meter in length, especially a war-trumpet; signal for war, war; exciter, author, instigatorartifexartist, actor; craftsman, master (of a craft); mastermind, schemer
The English word instrument itself goes back to Latin struō, through īnstrūmentum.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
instrument
Tool, etc., instrumentum: organum (ὄργαναν: especially one that contains works or some artificial construction; hence the best expression for a musical instrument, ☞ Sen., Ep., 87, 11): macbina (machine for facilitating the movement or management of anything). Astronomical instruments, *supellex sideribus observandis: surgical instruments, ferramenta chirurgorum: stringed (musical) instruments, fides: a wind nstrument, cornu (horn): tibiae (double-flute): tuba (trumpet): Instrument-maker, instrumentorum opifex: artifex, qui organa fabricat.
Written or printed document, litterae: tabulae: instrumentum (document, etc., litis, Quint.; emtionis, Scaevola, Dig., 24, 1, 58). To draw up an instrument, litteris aliquid consignare.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for instrument?
- The usual Latin words for “instrument” are īnstrūmentum, organum, littera; also tabula, fidēs, cornū̆. 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.