English → Latin
“mineral” in Latin
metallummetal (atomic element or material made of such atoms); precious metals, especially gold or silver.; mine (place where mefossilisRetrieved from the earth, dug out, dug up, unearthed; fossil.metallicusyielding or abounding in metal; metallicaesmoney, pay, fee, fare; copper, bronze, brass; payment, debt
The English word mineral itself goes back to Latin mīna, through minerale.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
mineral s.
metallum (not only of metals, but also of other substances dug out of the earth; e.g., creta, sulphur): fosstle; plur., fossilia.
mineral adj.
metallicus (Plin., 27, 415); aes or aeris particulas continens. A mineral flavor, sapor medicatus (Plin., Ep.): the mineral kingdom, fossilia, plur.,: a mineral spring, *fons aeris particulas continens.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for mineral?
- The usual Latin words for “mineral” are metallum, fossilis, metallicus; also aes. 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.