English → Latin
“passive” in Latin
patibilistolerable, endurable; capable of feeling, sensitive; passiveprīscusformer; ancient; old-fashionedcārusdear, beloved; costly, expensive, valued
The English word passive itself goes back to Latin patior, through passivus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
passive
patibilis (in a philosophical sense = capable of suffering; Cic., N.D., 3, 12, 29; opposed to activus, Lactantius 2, 9, 21. ☞ Passivus is a bad word except in a grammatical sense: verbum passivum, Priscus, Charis. Diom.): verbum patiendi (Gell., 18, 12).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for passive?
- The usual Latin words for “passive” are patibilis, prīscus, cārus. 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.