What is the Latin word for stress?

The usual Latin words for “stress” are volō, pondus, significātiō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“stress” in Latin

volōto wish, to please; to want; to mean, to intend pondusweight; weight of a pound; heaviness, weight of a body significātiōsignal, sign, mark, token; applause; meaning, import

The English word stress itself goes back to Latin stringō, through distringō.

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

stress

Force, vis [Vid: FORCE].

Emphasis, pondus: significatio (emphasis, as technical term in Quintilian).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for stress?: The usual Latin words for “stress” are volō, pondus, significātiō. 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.