What is the Latin word for knock?

The usual Latin words for “knock” are sum, ōstium, pellō; also percussiō, ictus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“knock” in Latin

sumto be, exist; there be; to go ōstiumdoor; entrance; estuary pellōto push, drive, hurl, impel, propel; expel, banish, eject, thrust out; to strike, set in motion; to rout, put to flight,percussiōbeating, striking; percussion (act of beating etc); beat ictusa beating time, a beat; a beat of the pulse; an attack, shot

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

knock v.

Hit, strike, pulsare aliquid (fores, ostium). To knock anything with anything, pulsare aliquid aliqua re; (if with violence), percutere aliquid aliqua re: to knock one’s head violently against a stone, capite graviter offenso impingi saxo; against the door, capite illidi or impingi foribus; (if voluntarily), caput illidere or impingere alicui rei: to knock to pieces, perfringere aliquid. [Vid. BEAT, STRIKE].

To knock at, digito impellere aliquid (to knock at with the finger; e.g., januam); pulsare aliquid (to knock violently against anything; e.g., fores, ostium: the form pultare occurs with januam, Plaut.; ostium, fores, Terentianus). Someone knocks at the door, pulsantur fores. To knock violently against the windows, quatere fenestras (Hor., Od., 1, 25, 1).

To knock in, (pulsando) effringere, perfringere (as doors, windows). To knock in the teeth, illidere dentes labellis (Lucr., 4, 1073); dentes elidere (to knock them out).

To knock off (the top of anything), decutere.

To knock out, excutere (with shaking or violence); elidere (implying injury). To knock out one’s eyes, oculum alicui excutere, elidere: one’s teeth, *elidere alicui dentes (after Lucr., 4, 1073, where illidere dentes labellis; i. e., to strike in the teeth): malas alicui indentare: dentilegum aliquem facere (both comedy). To knock in the bottom of a cask, dolio fundum excutere.

knock s.

pulsus (with genitive, either of the thing with which one knocks or against which one knocks: a knock at the door, pulsus ostii; also, pulsatio ostii, as act): percussio (a violent striking, as action: knock on the head, percussio capitis): ictus (blow, thrust, etc., which injures or wounds the object). Vid. BLOW, s. KNOCKER (at a door), perhaps malleus.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for knock?: The usual Latin words for “knock” are sum, ōstium, pellō; also percussiō, ictus. 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.