What is the Latin word for shake?

The usual Latin words for “shake” are quassātiō, iactātiō, caput; also vōx, quatiō, quassō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“shake” in Latin

quassātiōThe act of shaking.; An affliction, disturbance.iactātiōshaking, agitation caputthe head (of humans and animals); head; top; summit; point; end; extremity (beginning or end); origin; source; spring; h vōxvoice; accent; speech, remark, expression, (turn of) phrase quatiōto shake, agitate, batter, shatter, demolish, overthrow, rend; to wield, brandish; to move, touch, excite, affect quassōto shake repeatedly, to quake; to wave or flourish; to weaken concutiōto shake violently (or together); to agitate; to terrify or alarm agitōto act, behave, do, or make persistently or unremittingly; to put something in motion, drive, impel; drive by rowing, ro conquassōto shake violently; to shatter; to unsettle or disturb labefaciōto cause to totter, shake, loosen, make ready to fall; to cause to waver, shake, weaken; to weaken; overthrow, ruin, des

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

shake s.

quassatio (e.g., capitis): jactatio (e.g. cervicum): usually by the verb. A shake of the voice, vox or souus vibrans (Vid: Plin., 10, 29, 43).

shake v.

Transitively,

PROP., quatere: quassare: concutere: agitare. To shake the head, caput concutere, quatere, quassare: to shake the head at anything (i. e., to show unwillingness or hesitation), renuere aliquid; dubitare haesitare; nolle aliquid facere; rem improbare: to shake hands with anybody, manus alicujus quassare (Cic.): and perhaps prensare manus alicujus (Liv.): to shake out or down, excutere; decutere: to shake one’s self, se concutere (of animals, Juv.). To shake one’s clothes, excutere vestem; excutere pulverem e veste: to shake the voice, vibrissare (Titinn., ap. Fest., who explains it by vocem in cantando crispare).

Figuratively, quatere: quassare: concutere: conquassare: labefacere; labefactare: convellere. (The words are found in this connection and order.) labefactare convellereque; percutere, percellere (to make a violent impression upon). To shake the kingdom, regnum concutere, labefactare: imperium percutere: to shake the credit of anybody., fidem alicujus moliri: credit was shaken, fides concidit. Intransitively, quati: concuti: quassari. To laugh till one’s sides shake, concuti cachinno: to shake with fear, cohorrescere, inhorrescere. Vid: TREMBLE. SHAKE OFF, decutere (PROP.): excutere (PROP. and figuratively). To shake off dust from clothes, excutere vestem: to shake off the yoke, excutere jugum (PROP. and figuratively).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for shake?: The usual Latin words for “shake” are quassātiō, iactātiō, caput; also vōx, quatiō, quassō. 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.