What is the Latin word for raise?

The usual Latin words for “raise” are tollō, ēlevō, subdūcō; also mōlior, ēdūcō, excitō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“raise” in Latin

tollōto raise, lift up, elevate; to remove, take away, steal, rob; to destroy, eliminate, annul ēlevōto raise or elevate; to alleviate or sooth; to weaken, lessen subdūcōto draw from under or below; draw, lift or pull up, raise; to draw or haul up onto land, beach; to draw, take or lead aw mōliorto strive, endeavor, work at; to put in motion, shake, move; to rouse, bestir ēdūcōto lead, draw or take out, forth or away; to raise up; erect excitōto call forth: to rouse, awaken, summon; to bring forth: to raise, build; to bring out: to encourage, revive, excite, st exstruōto pile, heap or build up; to build up, raise, rear, erect, construct aedificōto build, erect, establish; (figuratively) to "build" a life, to live in a morally good or prudent manner; to create, fr ērigōto raise up, elevate, lift; to lift, raise, boost; to build, erect firmōto make firm, strengthen, harden, fortify; to say, affirm, assert; to reinforce the courage

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

raise

To lift up, tollere: elevare (the latter only of things really lifted up: hence elevare manus, but not oculos: and not in the figuratively sense; e.g., laudibus aliquem elevare: ☞ verbis qui elevare is to depreciate a man; to run him down, the opposed to of extolling): subducere (to lead or draw from below): moliri (to raise up heavy weights, by pulleys, etc.). To raise the curtain, aulaeum tollere (with the ancients, at the end of the piece, to draw up the curtain before the stage; opposed to aulaeum premere or mittere, at the beginning of a piece, to let the curtain drop, so that the actors were seen; Vid: Schmid., Hor. Ep., 2, 1, 189): to raise one’s hands to heaven, tendere manus (supplices) ad caelum (in prayer).

To erect, educere: excitare (pyramids, towers): exstruere: aedificare (to build): to raise fortifications, munimenta excitare: to raise a dam, aggerem jacere, exstruere; a wall, murum aedificare. [Vid: To ERECT.

To excite, arouse, erigere; excitare: firmare: confirmare (to confirm, strengthen): relevare, recreare (to refresh): to raise the spirits of a dejected person, afflictum alicujus animum recreare (☞ Cic., Att., 1, 16, 8, ego recreavi afflictos animos bonorum, unumquemque confirmans, excitans); animum alicujus jacentem or aliquem abjectum et jacentem excitare; sublevare stratum et abjectum; ad animi aequitatem extollere aliquem.

To give forth, occasion, tollere. To raise a shout, clamorem tollere: on the arrival of anybody, clamoribus aliquem excipere: to raise a laugh, cachinnum tollere; in cachinnos effundi. Such phrases are frequently expressed in Latin by single words; e.g., to raise a laugh, cachinnari: to raise a charge, accusare aliquem.

To bring forward, proferre: producere: in medium proferre: to raise an objection, opponere, contra dicere aliquid: obloqui: occurrere.

To cause to rise (from the dead), aliquem excitare ab inferis; aliquem a morte ad vitam revocare (to recall to life): aliquem ab Orco reducem in lucem facere (to cause to return to the world. ☞ Vivificare is bad Latin).

To levy, prepare, parare, comparare; conferre, conquirere, conficere, cogere (to collect, bring together): to raise troops, copias parare or comparare; exercitum conficere: to raise money, cogere pecuniam, from anybody, ab aliquo; pecunias expedire.

To augment, increase, efferre (to bring forth): augere (to increase): majus reddere (to render greater, enlarge): exaggerare (to make higher or larger). To raise the price of a commodity, pretium alicujus rei efferre (to make the price higher): carius vendere aliquid (to sell at more): to attempt to raise the price of corn, annonam flagellare (of a corn-factor who keeps back his corn, that prices may rise; Plin.); annonam incendere, excandefacere (Varr., R; R., 3, 2, 16); annonae caritatem inferre. Prices have been raised, merces cariores sunt or pluris veneunt: the price of anything has been raised [Vid: “prices etc., have risen” in RISE.] To raise the pay, stipendium augere: to raise courage, majorem reddere animum; addere animum.

To promote, advance (to honor), augere, ornare (general term); producere ad dignitatem or ad honores, evehere ad honores: to raise to great honor, amplis honoribus ornare or decorare: to raise from the dust, ex humili loco ad dignitatem producere; e tenebris in lucem evocare; e tenebris et silentio proferre: to the highest honors, ad amplissimos honores or ad summam dignitatem perducere: to raise anybody to the throne, regnum et diadema alicui deferre (Hor., Od., 2, 2, 22).

To raise a siege, Vid :, SIEGE.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for raise?: The usual Latin words for “raise” are tollō, ēlevō, subdūcō; also mōlior, ēdūcō, excitō. 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.