What is the Latin word for pitch?

The usual Latin words for “pitch” are pix, gradus, sonus; also hūc, egō̆, veniō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“pitch” in Latin

pixpitch, tar gradusa step, pace; a grade; a stage, degree sonussound, noise; pitch; speech; tone, character, style; voice, tongue hūcto this, to this (alone), to (only) this subject/matter; for this (alone), for this (one) thing; to/at (precisely) this egō̆I; first person singular personal pronoun, nominative case veniōto come (to a place), come in, arrive, reach; of metaphorical movement in general; to approach picōto smear with pitch, to tar; to season (wine) with a pitchy flavour pōnōto place; to put; to lay; to ordain; to appoint; to make (something); to set up; to pitch (camp)statuōto put up (something); to stand (something) in an upright position; to establish, determine, fix (the form or character collocōto place, put, set in order, assign, arrange; to put together, assemble; to settle

The English word pitch itself goes back to Latin pix.

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

pitch s.

Resin of the pine, pix, generally picis.

Degree of height, gradus: highest pitch of honor, summus honoris gradus. ☞ “To this pitch,” or “to such a pitch of”... is mostly translated by adverbs huc, eo, etc., with genitive. To this pitch of arrogance, huc arrogantiae (venire): he advanced to such a pitch of insolence, eo insolentiae processit: you seem to be aware to what a pitch of madness you have arrived, scire videmini, quo amentiae progressi sitis.

In music, sonus: a high pitch, sonus acutus: a low pitch, sonus gravis.

pitch v.

To cover with pitch, picare; impicare (Col., 12, 29): liquida pice linire (Col., 6, 17, 6).

To fasten with pitch, pice astringere (Hor., Od., 3, 8, 10).

To fix, settle, ponere; statuere; collocare: to pitch a camp, castra ponere, locare, collocare, constituere; tendere: a pitched battle, pugna; acies; proelium.

In music, sonare: to pitch high, acute sonare: low, graviter sonare: a pitching of the voice, conformatio vocis (Cic.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for pitch?: The usual Latin words for “pitch” are pix, gradus, sonus; also hūc, egō̆, veniō. 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.