What is the Latin word for prize?

The usual Latin words for “prize” are auferō, ferō, ōrnō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“prize” in Latin

auferōto take or snatch away; take by force, remove, take away violently, abduct, rob, steal, snatch, confiscate; to lay aside ferōto bear; to carry; to support, hold up; to suffer, tolerate, endure, bear ōrnōto furnish, equip, outfit, prepare; to adorn, ornament, decorate; to honor, commend, praise

The English word prize itself goes back to Latin pretium.

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

prize

praemium certaminis (in the games; Suet., Cal., 20, in: ☞ not brabeum, which is late). To offer a prize, praemium proponere: to fix or appoint a prize, praemium ponere: to gain a prize, praemium accipere, auferre (PROP.); palmam accipere or ferre (PROP., of the palm, wreath, then IMPROP. = to get the victory or advantage): praemio augeri, ornari (after Cic.): to gain the first, second prize, *praemio primario, secundario ornari (Eichst.): to award a prize, praemium alicui tribuere, dare, deferre; palmam deferre, dare, alicui (Cic.): to award the first prize, alicui primum praemium tribuere (PROP.); primas deferre, concedere, dare, priores deferre alicui (PROP. and IMPROP.); the second, secundas dare (Cic.): subject for a prize, *quaestio concertationi instituendae proposita (Eichst.), or *ad disceptationis certamen posita (Wyttenbach). The prize of female merit was adjudged to Lucretia, muliebris certaminis laus penes Lucretiam fuit.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for prize?: The usual Latin words for “prize” are auferō, ferō, ōrnō. 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.