English → Latin
“opportunity” in Latin
opportūnitāsconvenience, fitness; opportunity, chance; advantageoccāsiōoccasion, opportunity; kairos, the right time, the favorable moment, the opportune momentcāsusa fall, downwards movement; accident, chance; an event, happening, occurrencepotestāspower, ability; mastery, control; authority, jurisdictionfacultāsability to do any thing easily, skill, capacity, power; means, resources; opportunity, chancecōpiasupply, abundance, copiousness, wealth, riches; plenty, fulness, multitude; opportunity, facilities (the means of doing adeōto approach, go to; to attend (a performance); to undertake, undergoānsahandle; tiller (handle of the rudder)causacause, reason; case, claim, contention; cause, judicial process, lawsuitfaberartisan, craftsman, architect, creator, maker, artificer, forger, smith, carpenter
The English word opportunity itself goes back to Latin ob, through opportūnitās.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
opportunity
opportunitas (the proper word, accidental circumstances of place and time favorable for the completion of an undertaking): occasio (point of time which unexpectedly and suddenly occurs or presents itself in our favor. ☞ Opportunitas is always at hand before we begin to act, for which reason we never read in the ancients of giving or presenting an opportunitas; occasio often first presents itself to us when we have begun to act, and then helps the action): casus (which accidentally offers itself; Vid: Cic., Att., 6, 1, 9; Sall., Jug., 25, 9, Fabri): potestas: facultas: copia (all three = opportunity in a subjective sense; i. e., the ability which one has to undertake or conduct anything; but with this difference, that potestas is the permission, power, etc., to do anything; facultas, the power of acting which one possesses; copia, means or materials at hand for accomplishing anything): aditus (PROP., an approach to a person or thing; then opportunity of conveying one’s self to or of reaching him; Vid: commentators ad Caes., B.G., 1, 43): ansa (PROP., a handle; figuratively, an opportunity afforded by anyone; in the phrase ansam dare, or praebere alicujus rei or ad aliquid. ☞ It is wrong to say that Cic. always adds tamquam to ansa in order to qualify the expression; he never does this; for in Lael., 16, 59, tamquam belongs to ad reprehendendum; Vid: Beier in loc.): causa (the reason which one has or finds for anything). ☞ All the foregoing substantives take the complement of a genitive, either of a substantive or of a gerund; but occasio, opportunitas, aditus, and ansa take also ad with a gerund or the future passive participle. A good, favorable opportunity, locus opportunus, loci opportunitas (in respect of place); opportunitas idonea, occasio commoda et idonea, occasio bona, temporis opportunitas, tempus opportunum, occasio, opportunitas, tempus (in respect of time; tempus is usually, but not always, followed by an infinitive): on an opportunity, per occasionem; occasione data or oblata; si occasio fuerit or tulerit: at every opportunity, omni occasione; quotiescumque potestas or occasio data est: on the first good opportunity, ut primum occasio or potestas data est (erit); primo quoque tempore dato; ubi primum opportunum (Sall., Jug., 62, init.): to wait for an opportunity, tempora sua opperiri: to seek an opportunity, occasionem quaerere, or circumspicere, or captare: to watch an opportunity, tempus or occasionem observare; tempori insidiari (Liv., 23, 35): to seek an opportunity for anything, aliquid quaerere (e.g., bellum): to find an opportunity for anything, alicujus rei or aliquid faciendi causam reperire (e.g., bellandi): to seize an opportunity, occasionem arripere; (very eagerly), occasionem avidissime amplecti; arripere facultatem aliquid faciendi, quaecumque detur: to make use or avail one’s self of an opportunity, opportunitate or occasione uti; opposed to occasioni deesse; occasionem amittere, praetermittere, dimittere: to give an opportunity to anybody, alicui occasionem dare, praebere; (for anything), alicujus rei or ad aliquid faciendum; casum alicujus rei, or alicujus rei faciendae praebere; alicui potestatem or facultatem, copiam dare alicujus rei; alicui ansam dare, or praebere alicujus rei, or ad aliquid faciendum (e.g., reprehensionis, or ad reprehendendum): to have an opportunity, occasionem or opportunitatem habere: have an opportunity of, potestas, or facultas or copia alicujus rei mihi data or facta est; aditum habeo alicujus rei or faciendi aliquid (e.g., si qui mihi erit aditus cum eo agendi).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for opportunity?
- The usual Latin words for “opportunity” are opportūnitās, occāsiō, cāsus; also potestās, facultās, cōpia. 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.