English → Latin
“substitute” in Latin
vicāriusvicarious, substitutedprōcūrātormanager, overseer, superintendent; procurator (office); agent, deputyprōcūrōto manage, administer; to take care of, attend to, look after any thing
The English word substitute itself goes back to Latin statuō, through substitutus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
substitute v.
aliquem in locum alterius substituere: aliquid in locum or in vicem alicujus rei reponere. To substitute one word for another, aliud verbum reponere (Quint., 11, 2, 49).
substitute s.
vicarius (one who administers an office in the place of another, especially in the place of one who still retains his office, either in public or in private life): procurator (an agent, either in public or in private life, one who acts on behalf of another during his absence). To be or act as a substitute, aliena fungi vice (to be a vicarius); procurare (to be a procurator): alicujus vice or officio fungi (as vicarius); alicujus negotia or rationes procurare; alicui procurare (as procurator): to procure a substitute for anybody, alicui vicarium expedire (e.g., to serve as a soldier, Liv., 29, 1, 8); for one’s self, vicarium mercede conducere (e.g., to serve in the militia, etc.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for substitute?
- The usual Latin words for “substitute” are vicārius, prōcūrātor, prōcūrō. 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.