English → Latin
“subterfuge” in Latin
latebrahiding place, retreat, lair; place of refuge from war; hidden recessdēverticulumA byroad, bypath, side-way; tributary.; A deviation, digression.; A place for travellers to put up; an inn, lodging.excūsātiōexcusespeciōsusgood-looking, handsome, beautiful; splendid, brilliant; showy, specioustergiversorto seek an evasion, to tergiversate
The English word subterfuge itself goes back to Latin fugiō, through subterfugium.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
subterfuge
latebra (qu., a hiding-place, a pretext): deverticulum: deverticulum ac flexio (an evasion): excusatio (an excuse): causa simulata or speciosa (an alleged specious reason). To seek a subterfuge, deverticula, or deverticula flexionesque quaerere; tergiversari (to twist and turn one’s self in every direction, in order to escape anything): to find a subterfuge, rimam aliquam reperire (proverbially, Plaut., Curc., 4, 2, 24): to have a subterfuge, latebram habere: he answered by a subterfuge, alio responsionem suam derivavit: without subterfuge, directe or directo (in a straightforward manner).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for subterfuge?
- The usual Latin words for “subterfuge” are latebra, dēverticulum, excūsātiō; also speciōsus, tergiversor. 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.