English → Latin
“reply” in Latin
respōnsiōanswer, reply, response; refutationrespondeōto reply, answer, respond; to offer or present in return; to measure updēfēnsiōdefence, protectionexcūsātiōexcusepūrgātiōpurification, cleansing, purgingōrāculumA divine announcement, oracle.; A prophetic declaration; prophecy.; A place where oracular responses were given; oracle.rescrībōto write back in reply; (of emperors or lawyers) to answer in writing a petition or legal question; to give a rescript osubiectiōlaying, putting or placing under; subjugation, submissionanteoccupātiōan anticipation of objections; procatalepsisedōto eat
The English word reply itself goes back to Latin plicō, through replico.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
reply s.
responsio: responsum (general term; the former in Quintilian, a refutation; the latter, also, the answer of an oracle): defensio: excusatio: purgatio (reply to a charge): oraculum: sors oraculi (oracular response): rescriptum (written reply of a prince; Silver Age). A reply given to one’s self to a question put by one’s self (of an orator), sibi ipsi responsio, subjectio (ἀνθυποφορά). Reply to an objection that might be made, anteoccupatio: praesumtio (πρόληψις). Sharp, witty replies, acute responsa. To read a written reply, ex libello respondere (Plin., Ep., 6, 5, 6). To make a reply [Vid: To REPLY]. To receive a reply, responsum ferre, auferre: I receive a reply to my letter, meis litteris respondetur or rescribitur: I got a reply, responsum mibi est; responsum datum est: to bring back a reply, responsum referre, renunciare.
reply v.
respondere; to anything, ad aliquid or alicui rei: responsum dare, edere, reddere: rescribere (ad aliquid or alicui rei: excipere aliquem or alicujus sermonem. SYN. in ANSWER). To reply to an objection, referre: reponere: respondere contra aliquid: id quod opponitur refutare: respondere de jure: responsitare (to reply to legal questions whenever applied to, of lawyers): respondere: se defendere: se purgare (to reply to an accusation; criminibus respondere). To reply to a question or questions, respondere ad interrogata (rogata) or ad ea, quae quaesita sunt: not to reply to, non respondere; tacere; obmutescere: to reply to, nullum responsum dare; nullum verbum respondere; omnino nihil respondere: to reply boldly, fiercely, etc., fortiter, audacter, ferociter respondere: to reply courteously (by letter), rescribere humanissime. It is easy to reply to this, hujus rei facilis et promta est responsio.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for reply?
- The usual Latin words for “reply” are respōnsiō, respondeō, dēfēnsiō; also excūsātiō, pūrgātiō, ōrāculum. 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.