English → Latin
“shear” in Latin
tondeōto shave, shear, clip; to crop, prune, trim; to mow, reaprecidōto fall back, return (especially of an evil); to recoil; to fall upon, happen topraecīdōto cut off in front or through; shorten; sever, separate; to beat to pieces, batter, smash; to cut off or across, avoid,capillusa single hair; hair (plurally); a head of hair: locks, tresses
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
shear
tondere (the proper word): recidere, praecidere (to cut short, or too short; e.g., capillum).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for shear?
- The usual Latin words for “shear” are tondeō, recidō, praecīdō; also capillus. 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.