English → Latin
“pedantry” in Latin
ineptiasilliness, folly, absurdityvānitāsemptiness, nothingness; falsity, falsehood, deception, untruth, untrustworthiness, fickleness; vanity, vainglory
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
pedantry
ineptiae (general term): putida jactatio: morositas nimia, or affectatio et morositas nimia (i. e., in style, the choice of words. Suet., Tib., 70). But these words do not express the notion with any tolerable accuracy. Ruhnken uses pedantismus with a qualifying expression; e.g., pedantismi vitium (utamur enim Gallico verbo, cum in Latina lingua non satis aptum huic rei nomen inveniamus). Krebs suggests vanitas, quam hodie novo vocabulo pedantismum vocant (the fault meant being partly expressed by the vanitas Graecula of Latin writers).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for pedantry?
- The usual Latin words for “pedantry” are ineptia, vānitās. 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.