English → Latin
“subtle” in Latin
subtīlisfine, thin, slender; precise, accurate, keen; plain, unadorned, simpletenuisthin, slender, slim, lank; especially; fine, rare, thin; pure, clear, not coarse; weak, feeble, tenuousexīlissmall, thin, slender; lank, meagre, feeble, inadequate; of the sound l, palatalizedacuōto make pointed, sharpen, whet; to exercise, practice, improve; to spur, stimulate, arouseā̆stūtuscrafty, cunning, shrewd, clever, tricksy (adept at using tricks)versūtusadroit, dexterous, versatile; shrewd, clever, crafty, ingenious; wily, cunning, slycalliduswise, clever, ingenious; adroit, skilful, cunning, sly, crafty; discreet
The English word subtle itself goes back to Latin tēla, through subtīlis.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
subtle
PROP., Thin, fine, subtilis: tenuis: exilis.
Figuratively, Acute, nice, subtilis: acutus. Vid: ACUTE.
Crafty, artful, astutus: versutus: callidus.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for subtle?
- The usual Latin words for “subtle” are subtīlis, tenuis, exīlis; also acuō, ā̆stūtus, versūtus. 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.