English → Latin
“lament” in Latin
dēfleōto weep over, cry for, lament, deplore; to dull with weeping; to weep abundantly or violently, weep to exhaustiondēplōrōto complain about, bemoan; to weep for bitterly, bewail, lament, deplorecomplōrōto bewail, lament together loudly or violently
The English word lament itself goes back to Latin lāmentum, through lāmentor.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
lament v.
deflere; deplorare, complorare (to lament greatly, or aloud; complorare, especially of several): to lament the death of anyone, complorare alicujus mortem; de morte alicujus flere; alicujus morti illacrimari; alicujus mortem cum fletu deplorare: to lament a deceased person, lacrimis justoque comploratu prosequi mortuum (of hired mourners, etc., at a funeral; Liv., 25, 26): to lament the living as well as the dead, complorare omnes, pariter vivos mortuosque: to lament for one’s self and one’s country, complorare se patriamque (☞ Liv., 2, 40): to lament one’s misfortunes, deplorare de suis incommodis.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for lament?
- The usual Latin words for “lament” are dēfleō, dēplōrō, complōrō. 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.