What is the Latin word for slip?

The usual Latin words for “slip” are lābor, errō, peccō; also surculus, pāla, omittō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“slip” in Latin

lāborto slip, slide, glide; (of fluids) to flow gently; to fall, sink down; to slip, stumble errōto wander, rove, stray, roam; to get lost, go astray; to err, wander from the truth, to mistake peccōto sin, transgress, commit a wrongdoing; to mess up surculusshoot, sprout, sprig, twig; a scion, graft, a sucker, slip, set of a plant for growth; a small tree pālaA shovel, spade.; blade; The bezel of a ring.omittōto let go, allow to pass by, let fall or let loose; to lay aside, give up, abandon, neglect or disregard; to omit, leave excidōto fall out, from or down, tumble to the ground, collapse, break down, drop; to fall out or from involuntarily, slip out ēlāborto slip or glide away; to escape; to elapse

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

slip s.

A false step,

PROP., vestigii lapsus. To make a slip, vestigio falli: to make a slip and fall, vestigio fallente cadere.

ImPROP., lapsus (departure from what is right): error (a mistake): peccatum (an offence): to make a slip, labi; peccare: “there’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip,” iuter os et offam (sc. multa intervenire possunt; a proverb of Cato’s, Gell., 13, 17); multa cadunt inter calicem supremaque labra (a translation of πολλὰ μεταξὺ πέλει κύλικος καὶ χείλεος ἄκρου; Vid: Facciol., in ANaeUS): a slip of the memory, offensatio memoriae (labentis); or by circumlocution with memoria labi (e.g., to do anything from a slip of the memory, memoria lapsum facere aliquid, or perperam edere aliquid).

A branch set in the ground, surculus.

A long thin board, etc., *pala.

A noose, Vid:

PHR., To give the slip, excidere: elabi. (The words are found in this connection and order.) excidere atque elabi.

slip v.

Intransitively, vestigio falli: vestigio fallente cadere (when one slips and falls). My foot slips, me instabilis gradus fallit (Curt., 7, 11, 16); vestigium fallit (Plin., Ep., 2, 1, 5): one’s foot slips on the ice, glacies vestigium non recipit (Liv., 21, 36): to slip on the sleep rocks, praerupta saxa vestigium fallunt (Curt., 4, 9, 18); se subducere (as earth slips): to let an opportunity slip, occasionem amittere (Terentianus), omittere (Cic.): to slip out, excidere; elabi (both PROP. and figuratively). (The words are found in this connection and order.) excidere atque elabi: a thing slips out of my hands, aliquid de manibus excidit, delabitur, fluit; aliquid mihi excidit atque elabitur: a word slips out from me, verbum (or vox) excidit or elabitur (ex ore): a thing slips from my memory, excidit or effluit aliquid ex animo; elabitur aliquid memoria; exit res memoria: the name has slipped from me, nomen perdidi: to slip through or away, perlabi per, etc. (to slip through entirely, etc.); elabi (to give the slip; with custodiae, of a prisoner); evadere (to escape); se subducere, subtrahere, surripere (to get out of the way quickly and imperceptibly).

Transitively, To slip a knot, nodum solvere, expedire.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for slip?: The usual Latin words for “slip” are lābor, errō, peccō; also surculus, pāla, omittō. 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.