What is the Latin word for pay?

The usual Latin words for “pay” are mercēs, pretium, praemium; also honor, quaestus, fruor. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“pay” in Latin

mercēspay, wages, reward; revenue, income; chastisement, punishment, penalty pretiumworth, price, value, cost; pay, hire, wage; reward praemiumprofit derived from booty; profit, advantage, prerogative, distinction; prize, reward, recompense honorhonor, esteem, dignity, reputation, office quaestusgain, acquisition, profit, advantage; occupation, employment, job fruorto enjoy; to derive pleasure from; to engage (in)mercēduladiminutive of mercēs; low salary, small wages, low reward; small rent of land paucusfew, little soleōto be accustomed, used to, in the habit of numerōto count, enumerate; to pay, count out; to reckon, esteem

The English word pay itself goes back to Latin picō.

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

pay s.

merces (general term): pretium (price given or received for work, etc.): (The words are found in this connection and order.) merces pretiumque: praemium, honos (a reward): quaestus, fructus (profit, advantage, gain. ☞ Auctoramentum is not = pay, but earnest money received by a gladiator, soldier, etc.): small, inconsiderable pay, mercedula; merces parva or pauca; pretium parvum: large pay, merces magna ampla: for pay, mercede, pretio; e.g., docere: to take any one into pay, to hire for pay, mercede or pretio conducere aliquem: to serve for pay, alicui operas suas locare: to fix, settle the pay for anyone, mercedem alicujus constituere: to give any one the pay for his work, dare alicui mercedem operae; solvere alicui pretium operae: soldier’s pay, stipendium militare; from the context simply stipendium or aes; e.g., to give triple pay, triplex stipendium alicui dare: to furnish pay to the soldiers, militibus stipendium numerare (to give out money for this purpose): militibus stipendium or aera dare (to give it into the hands of the soldiers). Vid: also, GAIN, PROFIT.

pay v.

TRANS., (1) in respect of money paid for goods, service, etc., solvere; numerare (to count out; SYN. In to PAY DOWN; dinumerare only in the comedians): to pay ready money, praesentem pecuniam numerare; pecuniam repraesentare: to pay by three installments, tribus pensionibus solvere pecuniam: to pay one’s debts, aes alienum solvere, dissolvere: to pay a debt, nomen solvere, dissolvere, expedire; aes alienum solvere, dissolvere; se liberare aere alieno; also, solvere, reddere debitum; solidum solvere (the whole debt): to pay wages, mercedem dare alicui (general term): (alicui salarium praestare, to pay a salary for public services, Scaevola, Dig. 34, 1, 16, § 1): stipendium alicui dare or praebere, aes alicui dare (to pay soldiers): to pay an army (i. e., to have in pay), exercitum alere: to be paid, mercedem accipere (general term): stipendium accipere (of soldiers): Hence (a) without an accusative of the object = to discharge one’s self of debt, solvere, reddere debitum: to pay all, solidum solvere: to pay to the utmost farthing, ad assem solvere (☞ not ad denarium solvere, which = to pay with Roman money; Vid: Cic., Quint., 4, extr., and ad Att., 2, 6, extr.): to pay to the day, ad diem solvere, dissolvere; ad tempus respondere: to pay by means of a loan, versuram facere; I will not go till I am paid, nisi explicata solutione non sum discessurus: to be able to pay, esse solvendo: not to be able to pay, non esse solvendo or ad solvendum: to swear that one is not able to pay, bonam copiam ejurare: one who is not able to pay, qui non est solvendo or ad solvendum; non idoneus (e.g., debitor): ability to pay, facultas solvendi: (b) figuratively, to pay the debt of nature, to die, debitum naturae reddere; naturae satisfacere: to pay one’s vows, vota solvere, for anything, pro re. (2) In respect of the thing purchased, solvere pro re (e.g., pro frumento emto; pro vectura): to pay ready money for a thing, emere praesenti pecunia (after Plaut., Men., 5, 9, 87): to pay a high price for anything, magno emere; (too high a price), male emere: to pay the price of one’s life for anything, capite luere. (3) In respect of the person whom one pays or is bound to pay, satisfacere alicui (e.g., creditoribus): he has duly paid me, recte, quod debuit, solvit.

Figuratively, to pay one for anything, i. e., to make to suffer, to punish, gratiam alicui referre: I am paid for my folly, ego pretium ob stultitiam fero (comedy): to pay one in his own coin, par pari referre (☞ not pro pari; Vid: Bentl., Ter., Eun., 3, 1, 55); parem gratiam referre alicui (ib., 4, 4, 51).

To pay one’s addresses to, aliquem petere: alicujus amore teneri, captum esse; aliquem in amore habere (to be in love with: cause for effect).

INTRANS. = to be profitable, fructum ferre; quaestui, quaestuosum, fructuosum esse (Cic.); in reditu esse (Plin.); aliquid omnem impensam pretio suo liberat (Col., 3, 3; pays its expenses; Vid: also, To COVER, end): the book pays well, uberrimus est libri reditus.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for pay?: The usual Latin words for “pay” are mercēs, pretium, praemium; also honor, quaestus, fruor. 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.