LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
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“reading” in Latin

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

reading
The act or subjects of reading, lectio librorum; lectio: legendi usus (practice of reading): libri quos lego; libri legendi: lectae litterae (books which one reads). To take pleasure in reading, litteris delectari: librorum lectione delectari mirifice: to give one’s time to the reading of the poets, tempus in poetis evolvendis consumere: to spend one’s mornings in reading, matutina tempora lectiunculis consumere: to amuse one’s self with light reading, remissius et dulcius aliquid legere: to be a man of extensive reading, multa legisse et pervolutasse (to have read much): multa lectione mentem formasse, multis litteris doctum esse (to have formed one’s mind by much reading).
A lecture, praelectio. [Vid: LECTURE.]
Words of a passage, *lectio: *scriptura (the former the more perspicuous word, since scriptura may also = “manner of writing”): a different reading, *lectio varia; *lectionis varietas; *scripturae discrepantia (☞ but not lectio diversa, lectionis diversitas): the common reading, *lectio vulgata: to depart from the common reading, *a lectione vulgata recedere: various readings (of a passage) in a manuscript, *librorum varietas: the true or genuine reading is, *vera Ciceronis (Horatii, etc.) manus haec est: a corrupt reading, “lectio vana; *scriptura librarii manu depravata; *scriptura mendosa; *corruptela; *mendum: to adopt a reading, *lectionem recipere, reddere (☞ but not adoptare): to reject a reading, *lectionem rejicere. Also, sometimes, by circumlocution with legere; as, the reading of most codices is, *in codicibus plerisque legitur.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for reading?
The usual Latin words for “reading” are lēctiō, praelēctiō, scrībō. 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.