English → Latin
“slight” in Latin
tenuisthin, slender, slim, lank; especially; fine, rare, thin; pure, clear, not coarse; weak, feeble, tenuousexīlissmall, thin, slender; lank, meagre, feeble, inadequate; of the sound l, palatalizedparvussmall; little; puny; cheap; petty; trifling; ignorable; unimportantexiguusstrict, exact; paltry, inadequate, small, scanty, slight, littlelevislight, not heavy; easy to digest; quick, swift, fleet, nimble, rapidīnfirmusweak, feeble; unhealthy, infirm, indisposed, sick; inconclusiveinvalidusinfirm, impotent, weak, feebleinerswithout skill, unskilled, unskillful, incompetent, crude; inactive, lazy, idle, indolent, sluggish, inert; worthless; stimbēcillusweak, feeble; cowardlylevidēnsisslight, of poor make or construction.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
slight adj.
tenuis (PROP., thin; opposed to crassus; then IMPROP., small, inconsiderable, etc.; e.g., spes, hope; suspicio, suspicion): exilis (not strong, weak; opposed to plenus; e.g., voice, vox): parvus, non magnus (small, not great; e.g., non magna signa alicujus rei, a slight proof only of anything; hope, spes; faith, fides): exiguus (small, trifling, of no note; e.g., force, manus; hope, spes; credibility, fides): levis (light, without intrinsic value, opposed to gravis; e.g., munus leve; suspicion, suspicio; proof or argument, argumentum): infirmus (not firm, weak, not able to undergo or bear anything, of persons and things; glimmer, lumen; taste, sapor; proof, argumentum): invalidus (not powerful, inefficient; e.g., poison, venenum; medicament, medicamentum): iners (without life, dull; e.g., color): imbecillus (imbecillis late; opposed to fortis; e.g., pulse, imbecilli venarum pulsus): levidensis (PROP., lightly wrought, of a light texture, Isidorus, Origg., 19, 22, § 19; hence metonymy = without value; e.g., munusculum, Cic., Fam., 9, 12, 2; Orelli, N. Cr.): nullus (οὐδείς, next to none; Vid: Cic., Fam. 7, 3, 2; Nep., Phoc., 1, 1): vilis (without worth, according to quality, mostly as term of contempt): dictu parvus (hardly worth mentioning; e.g., accident, res): tener: mollis (tender, delicate): gracilis (slim, thin; of shape; delicate; e.g., legs, crura).
Negligent, neglectus (not taken care of): parum accuratus (on which no pains have been bestowed): negligens: dissolutus (of the person).
Small (of number), numerus exiguus, parvus, pauci (a few): paucitas (fewness). With slight trouble, sine negotio; nullo negotio: not the slightest doubt, ne minima quidem dubitatio: not in the slightest degree, nihil (in no respect); ne minima quidem re (not by the least thing; e.g., to offend anybody, offendere aliquem); minime (in the least; e.g., quod minime putabat): to consider as very slight, parvum, parvi, etc., ducere; parvi aestimare; contemnere; despicere (to look on with contempt). (The words are found in this connection and order.) contemnere et pro nihilo ducere; vile habere; leve habere or in levi habere (the latter, Tac., Ann., 3, 54, 4, and Hist., 2, 21, 2): not to have the slightest knowledge, omnium rerum rudem esse: to hare not the slightest idea of anything, or to be able to form, etc., notionem alicujus rei non habere; fugit aliquid intelligentiae nostrae vim et notionem: slight causes, parvulae causae: a slight attack of an illness, commotiuncula; levis motiuncula (Suet., Vesp., 24).
slight v.
To pass over unnoticed, to disregard, praeterire silentio or tacitum; or, from the context, praeterire simply: repulsam dare alicui (not giving anybody a place or post applied for): parvum or parvi ducere; parvi aestimare; pro nihilo ducere; vile habere; leve habere or in levi habere (the latter, Tac., Ann. 3, 54, 4, and Hist., 2, 21, 2: all = not to make much of, to disregard, pass over); elevare (to deprive of credit, respect, etc.; aliquem or aliquid, to contemn with words). To be slighted, praeteriri (general term); repulsam ferre or accipere (to be refused a post or office). For stronger terms, Vid: “To treat with CONTEMPT. “
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for slight?
- The usual Latin words for “slight” are tenuis, exīlis, parvus; also exiguus, levis, īnfirmus. 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.