English → Latin
“sculpture” in Latin
sculpōto carve, chisel (in stone, metal, or wood); to fashion by sculpting, sculptscalpōto scratch (with the nails); to carve or engravesignumvisible indication: sign, mark, signal; seal, signet; emblem, ensignpingōto decorate, adorn, embellish; to paint, tint or colour; to portrayīnsculpōto carve in or upon; to engravescrībōto writeīnscrībōto write in or upon something, inscribe; furnish with an inscription, give a title to a book; to ascribe, assign, attribexsculpōto dig out or carve out; to elicit or extort; to erase
The English word sculpture itself goes back to Latin exsculpō, through sculptūra.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
sculpture s.
The act of sculpturing, coelatura: sculptura: scalptura. SYN. in the verb.
A thing sculptured, coelamen (Ov.): signum (any plastic work; opposed to tabulae, picturae) [Vid: STATUE.]
The art of sculpturing, ars pingendi: ars signa fabricandi: ars et statuas et simulacra fingendi
sculpture v.
coelare (from κοῖλος: to work figures in relief on metals, especially silver, ivory, etc.; also in wood; Verg. Freund writes caelare): scalpere: sculpere (the former of work but little raised, like ξέειν; the latter like γλύφειν, of works in half or whole relief. So Müller, Archaeol., 108): insculpere: scribere: inscribere (of cutting Inscript.). To sculpture anything in gold, aliquid auro or in auro coelare: to sculpture in stone, aliquid e saxo sculpere or exsculpere: to sculpture in marble, scalpere marmora (Cic.): to sculpture flowers, scalpere flores (Vitr.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for sculpture?
- The usual Latin words for “sculpture” are sculpō, scalpō, signum; also pingō, īnsculpō, 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.