English → Latin
“speculation” in Latin
cōgitātiōthinking, meditation, reflection; thought; reasoningadveniōto come to, to arrivesollersskilled, skilful, clever, dexterous, adroit, expert; ingenious, sagacious, clever, intelligent, inventivecupiditāsdesire (deemed good, neutral or bad); lust, passion; cupidity, avarice, greed, covetousness
The English word speculation itself goes back to Latin specula, through speculātiō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
speculation
Thought, imagination, etc., cogitatio: speculations, studia cogitationis (Cic., Off., 1, 6, 19); studia scientiae cognitionisque.
A plan or adventure for gain, spes et cogitatio quaestus. To be fond of speculations, emendi aut vendendi quaestu et lucro duci. A turn for speculation, sollertia (from context): mercandi studium or cupiditas: mercandi cupiditas et navigandi (Vid: Cic., Rep., 2, 4, 7; for mercantile speculation): quaestus studium (desire of gain). To undertake or be connected with foreign mercantile speculations, aleam maris et negotiations subire (after Col., 1, praef., 8). To lose all one’s money in mercantile speculations, pecuniam omnem in mercationibus perdere (Gell., 3, 3): from a love of speculation, mercandi cupiditate; mercandi causa; quaestus studio.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for speculation?
- The usual Latin words for “speculation” are cōgitātiō, adveniō, sollers; also cupiditās. 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.