English → Latin
“revenge” in Latin
vindictaceremonial staff used in manumission; punishment, vengeance; redress, satisfactionultiōvengeance, revengetāliōpunishment equal to the injury sustained; retaliationpoenapenalty, punishment; hardship, torment; executionīraire, anger, wrathīrācundiairritability, a proneness to anger, hastiness of temper, irascibility, wrathfulnessulcīscorto avenge; to take vengeance on, punish
The English word revenge itself goes back to Latin dīcō, through vindicō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
revenge s.
vindicta (as an act of justice): ultio (as an act of anger): talio (as an act of retaliation): poena (satisfaction by punishment inflicted): ulciscendi cupiditas (the spirit of revenge): ira: iracundia (anger, wrath). To take revenge on anybody, expetere poenas ab aliquo or in aliquem: a spirit of revenge, ulciscendi cupiditas. To glut one’s revenge; Vid: To GLUT.
revenge v.
ulcisci aliquem or aliquid: vindicare aliquem or aliquid: persequi alicujus poenas, or, post-Augustan, exsequi aliquem: poenas capere pro aliquo or alicujus rei: punire aliquid. (The words are found in this connection and order.) ulcisci et punire. [For SYN., Vid. REVENGE, s.] To revenge anybody’s death, alicujus mortem (or necem) ulcisci, or vindicare, or persequi: to revenge anybody by the blood of his murderer, alicui or alicujus manibus sanguine alicujus parentare (Herzog, Caes., B.G., 7, 17, extr.): to revenge one’s self on anybody, ulcisci or persequi alicujus injurias; ulcisci aliquem pro acceptis injuriis (never ulcisci aliquem alone in this meaning): vindicare in aliquem; poenas petere or repetere ab aliquo: one’s self on anybody for anything, or to revenge a person (by punishing him who wronged him), ulcisci aliquem pro aliqua re or pro aliquo (the person punished, in the accusative): vindicare aliquid ab aliquo (to visit anything upon anybody): poenas alicujus or alicujus rei repetere ab aliquo.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for revenge?
- The usual Latin words for “revenge” are vindicta, ultiō, tāliō; also poena, īra, īrācundia. 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.