English → Latin
“slack” in Latin
laxuswide, spacious, roomy; yielding; loose, slack, freeremittōto send back, to remit, to throw back, restore; to forgive, free one from any thing; to give up, reject, yield, resign, flaccidusFlaccid, flabby, pendulous.; Languid, feeble, weak.pendulushanging, hanging down, pendent, suspended; doubtful, uncertain, hesitatingfluidusliquid, fluid, flowing; soft, feeble, moistartusnarrow; close; fitted; confined; dense; severe; strict; scanty; briefcontineōto hold, keep, connect, contain, maintain; to hold or keep together/close; connect, surround; to keep in, enclose, boundlaxōto extend, expand; to open, make wide; to undo, releaserelaxōto stretch out or widen again; unloose, loosen, open; slacken; abate; to slacken, ease, alleviate, mitigate; cheer up, ecessōto stop, desist, halt, cease; to be lacking or wanting; to delay, hold back, tarry
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
slack
laxus (not tight, loose; opposed to astrictus, artus; also, figuratively = not strict; e.g., imperium laxius): remissus (not strained; opposed to adductus, contentus; also, figuratively, of the mind = relaxed): flaccidus (hanging down loose; e.g., of sails, ears of animals, etc; opposed to rigidus): pendulus (hanging down, not firm): fluidus (not fast or firm in its component parts; opposed to compactus. ☞ Thus, according to Liv., 34, 47, § 5, “corpora fluida” are bodies whose fleshy parts are not firm; according to Cic. [Tusc., 2, 23, 54], however, they are bodies whose nerves are in a relaxed or languishing state). To make slack, laxare; relaxare; remittere; cessare; mollire; emollire (e.g., the thong of a spear, jaculi amentum emollire; then, also, IMPROP., to weaken, to effeminate): to become slack, laxari; remitti; flaccessere; languescere (SYN. above): to be slack (of business, trade, etc.), jacere; cessare.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for slack?
- The usual Latin words for “slack” are laxus, remittō, flaccidus; also pendulus, fluidus, artus. 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.