English → Latin
“stagger” in Latin
titubōto stagger, totter, reel; to hesitate, falter, wavervacillōto sway to and fro; to stagger, reel, totter; to waver, hesitatelāborto slip, slide, glide; (of fluids) to flow gently; to fall, sink down; to slip, stumblelabāscōto totter (begin to fall); to waver, yieldlabefaciōto cause to totter, shake, loosen, make ready to fall; to cause to waver, shake, weaken; to weaken; overthrow, ruin, desclaudicōto limp, halt, be lame; to halt, waver; be wanting, incomplete, defectiveflūctuōto surge, swell, undulate; to fluctuate, vacillate; to be restless, figuratively tossed by emotional distresshaesitōto remain fixed in place; to hesitate; to be uncertaindubitōto waver (in opinion), be uncertain, doubt, question, be in doubt; to waver (in coming to a decision), hesitate, delay; labefactōto weaken; to cause to shake or totter; to destroy, ruin; to overthrow
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
stagger
Intransitively, titubare (PROP., to trip): vacillare (e.g., ex vino): labare (so as to fall): labascere: labefieri (PROP. and figuratively). To stagger home, titubante pede domum reverti.
Figuratively, claudicare: fluctuare: fluctuare animi or in animo; incertum esse; haesitare: dubitare: in dubio esse.
Transitively, PROP., labefacere: labefactare.
Figuratively, labefacere, labefactare: collabefactare (Ov.). To stagger anybody’s opinion, labefacere, labefactare aliquem; labefactare alicujus opinionem, sententiam; movere alicujus sententiam. To stagger anybody’s fidelity, fidem alicujus labefactare, sollicitare. To be staggered, labascere (Terentianus): labefieri, labefactari (Cic.). Anything staggers me (= makes me almost doubt the conclusion I thought certain), dubitatio mihi movetur or affertur.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for stagger?
- The usual Latin words for “stagger” are titubō, vacillō, lābor; also labāscō, labefaciō, claudicō. 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.