What is the Latin word for promote?

The usual Latin words for “promote” are rēs, prōspiciō, tollō; also attollō, foveō, ōrnō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“promote” in Latin

rēsthing, object, stuff; matter, issue, subject, topic; affair, event prōspiciōto look far off; to see into the distance; to watch or look out for; to discern, descry or espy tollōto raise, lift up, elevate; to remove, take away, steal, rob; to destroy, eliminate, annul attollōto lift, lift up; raise, raise up; elevate or sustain; rear foveōto warm, keep warm; to nurture, cherish, foster; to foment, bathe ōrnōto furnish, equip, outfit, prepare; to adorn, ornament, decorate; to honor, commend, praise exōrnōto equip, furnish, supply, provide; to adorn, embellish

The English word promote itself goes back to Latin moveō, through prōmōtus.

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

promote

To aid, assist, Vid:

To forward anybody’s interests, servire alicujus commodis; rebus or rationibus alicujus consulere or prospicere; the interests or welfare of a state, saluti reipublicae consulere; rempublicam juvare, tueri; reipublicae salutem suscipere; a study, studiis favere, studia concelebrare (by pursuing it eagerly; of several persons, Cic., Invent., 1, 3, 4).

To advance to honor, aliquem augere, tollere, attollere (to raise a man to posts of honor in a state): fovere (to show favor to by one’s acts): ornare, exornare (to distinguish): gratia et auctoritate sua sustentare (support by one’s influence). (The words are found in this connection and order.) augere atque ornare; augere et adjuvare; fovere ac tollere; sustinere ac fovere: to anything, producere ad dignitatem (to raise to a post of honor): promovere ad, or in munus, or ad locum (to promote to an office; not promovere alone): to promote anybody to a higher rank or office, aliquem promovere ad (in) ampliorem gradum, ad ampliora officia (☞ promovere, etc., in this sense is always post-Augustan; the best writers use the word only in the strict physical sense, to move or push forward; Krebs): to be promoted, ascendere (ad) altiorem gradum; promoveri ad altiorem gradum (general term); in ampliorem ordinem evehi (of military men; after Caes., B. C. 1, 77): to be promoted through all the grades to the highest command, efferri per honorum gradus ad summum imperium: to be promoted by anyone, auctum adjutumque ab aliquo ascendere altiorem gradum; in altiorem locum ascendere per aliquem; alicujus beneficio altiorem dignitatis gradum consequi: to be promoted from a lower post to a higher, promoveri ab humili ordine ad altiorem gradum; to the highest posts, ad summos honores provehi.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for promote?: The usual Latin words for “promote” are rēs, prōspiciō, tollō; also attollō, foveō, 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.