What is the Latin word for stop?

The usual Latin words for “stop” are moror, remoror, tardō; also retardō, teneō, retineō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“stop” in Latin

mororto linger, loiter, spend time with; to delay, hinder; to delay, hinder remororto stay, tarry, linger, loiter; to delay, detain, obstruct, hinder; to keep (one) waiting tardōto check or retard, hinder, impede or delay; to hesitate retardōto hinder, delay, detain, impede or retard teneōto hold, have; to grasp; to possess, occupy, control; to watch, guard, maintain, defend; to retain, keep retineōto keep or hold back, detain, restrain, retain, confine, contain; delay; to hold in check, repress, check, stop, stay; t sustineōto hold up or upright, uphold, support, sustain; to keep up, bear up, tolerate; to hold or keep back or in, stay, check,reprimōto repress; to check, prevent or restrain arceōto keep off, keep away, ward off, reject, repel; to prevent, hinder; to confine, keep close cohibeōto hold together, contain, confine, comprise; to keep (back), hinder, stay, stop, restrain; to hold in check, limit, rep

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

stop v.

Transitively, morari: remorari: moram facere alicui rei: moram afferre alicujus or alicui rei: moram et tarditatem afferre alicui rei (cause a delay in anything): tardare: retardare (to retard the prosecution of anything; e.g., of a journey, of the pursuit of an enemy): tenere: retinere: sustinere (to stop the progress of something; a thief, a carriage, a horse): reprimere (to check forcibly; fugam hostium; redundantem lacum): arcere: cohibere (to hold anything off, so that it may not approach): inhibere: sistere (sistere, of persons or things; inhibere, of lifeless objects in motion, currens, or flumen, sistitur; currus inhibetur). To stop anybody, morari, demorari, remorari aliquem (general term for delaying him): detinere, demorari et detinere aliquem (to draw him back, with reference to some object pursued by him): abrumpere (to stop abruptly): to stop anybody on a journey, retardare aliquem in via; remorari alicujus iter to stop anybody’s pursuit of an enemy, tardare aliquem ad insequendum hostem (of a marsh or other obstacle): to stop the progress of a war, moram et tarditatem afferre bello; morari celeritatem belli; the onset of an enemy, tardare or retardare hostium impetum: to stop horses, equos sustinere (opposed to agere, incitare); frenare; refrenare (to bridle; to hold in check): to stop mischief, obviam ire alicui rei (to meet a difficulty or danger by counteracting measures): stop thief! tenete furem!to stop one’s breath, animam comprimere (Terentianus); spiritum retinere (Cels., hold one’s breath): to stop the course of a vessel, navigium inhibere: to stop a sedition, uproar, etc., seditionem, motus comprimere: to stop one’s self, se sustinere; se reprimere; se cohibere: to stop anybody’s mouth, linguam alicui occludere; alicui os obturare; comprimere linguam alicujus, or vocem alicujus, or aliquem only (all comedy): to stop payment, non solvendo esse: to stop anybody on the high-road, viatorem invitum consistere cogere (Caes., B.G., 4, 5; not of itself implying robbery).

Intransitively, To stay, abide, manere: permanere. To stop on the road, devertere ad aliquem (in hospitium): to stop with anybody, in alicujus domo or apud aliquem habitare; apud aliquem or in alicujus domo deversari (for a time, as a guest); cum aliquo habitare (to live together); commorari (to he stopping at or abiding for a time). [Vid: STAY.]

To pause, consistere: insistere: subsistere: quiescere: (1) in speaking, paullum respirare; in lectione spiritum suspendere (Quint., 1, 8, 1); intervallo or intervallis dicere (opposed to sine intervallis dicere, after Cic., Or., 3, 48, 185; also, uno tenore dicere, to speak without intermission): (2) in reading, distinguere (to observe the proper stops): (3) in singing, intermittere: (4) in writing or printing, interpungere: (5) in drinking, intermittere. Without stopping, sine intervallo; ne intervallo quidem facto; sine ulla intermissione; uno tenore: to drink without stopping, non respirare in hauriendo (Plin., 14, 22, 28).

To cease, Vid: STOP UP, obturare: obstipare: claudere (shut in): obstruere: obsepire: intercludere. To stop up the way, viam praecludere: viam obstruere (barricade): iter obsepire: iter intercludere: interrumpere. To stop up with anything, aliqua re pro tomento uti.

stop s.

Delay, mora: impedimentum: or by the verb.

Pause, intermissio: intermissus (Plin.); or by the verb.

Point (in writing), punctum.

(On a musical instrument)(On a musical instrument), by the Greek Βόμβαξ or ὅλμος: some say *epistomium (in a wind instrument): manubrium, *capulum (in a stringed instrument). To open all the stops, omnia sonorum itinera aperire (Bau.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for stop?: The usual Latin words for “stop” are moror, remoror, tardō; also retardō, teneō, retineō. 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.