What is the Latin word for sink?

The usual Latin words for “sink” are lātrīna, sīdus, cōnsīdō; also dēsideō, resideō, subsīdō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“sink” in Latin

lātrīnabath; lavatory, water closet, toilet, privy sīdusgroup of stars, constellation, asterism; a star; the night sky cōnsīdōto sit down, be seated; to settle, settle down, establish residence (with enduring commitment); to sit (as a judge)dēsideōto remain or continue sitting; to sit idle or inactive, sit around, hang about; to go to defecate resideōto reside, abide, tarry, linger; to remain sitting; to sit up subsīdōto crouch, squat, sit down, set down, sink; to settle, subside; to crouch down on the watch, lie in wait, lie in ambush mergōto dip (in), immerse; plunge into water; drown; to overwhelm; to cover, bury dēmergōto sink or submerge, plunge into; to overwhelm, depress; to bury cadōto fall, to fall out; to fall in battle, die, be slain, fall so as to be unable to rise; to be frustrated, fail, to be o corruōto fall down, totter, collapse; (rare) to overthrow

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

sink s.

latrina (for impurities). Vid :, also, SEWERS.

sink v.

Intransitively, PROP., sidere (to go to the bottom): considere (to see down together): desidere (to go downward): residere: subsidere (to go down gradually): mergi: demergi (to go down in water; to be sunk, as ships, etc.). To be sunk in a deep sleep, somno mergi (Liv., 41, 3); artus somnus aliquem complectitur (Cic., Somn., 2).

Figuratively, To fall, go to ruin, cadere: considere: corruere (quickly, violently): labi: exstingui: demergi: inclinari: one’s courage sinks, animum demittere or submittere; animo cadere or deficere: he is sunk deeply in depravity, est moribus admodum corrupts; prorsus a virtute descivit: to sink below the level of the brutes, omnem humanitatem ita exuere, ut vix bestiae aequiparandum sit aliquis: sinking Latinity, Latinitas labens (opposed to florens; Ruhnken).

Transitively, demittere: submittere. To sink a well, puteum fodere (Plaut.), effodere (Col.), imprimere (Pallad.). To sink a ditch, fossam deprimere: to sink a ship, navem deprimere (the proper word, summergere †): he sank a ship at the entrance of the harbor (i. e., to block up the entrance), faucibus portus navem (onerariam) summersam objecit (Caes., B.C., 3, 39, 2): the cheeks sink in, genae labuntur (Sen., Hipp., 364): sunk eyes, oculi concavi, conditi, abditi, or latentes.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for sink?: The usual Latin words for “sink” are lātrīna, sīdus, cōnsīdō; also dēsideō, resideō, subsīdō. 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.