English → Latin
“support” in Latin
fulciōto prop up, support; to strengthen, secure, supportadminiculōto prop up, supportalōto feed, to nourish, to nurture; to cultivate, to raise, to rear, etc. (as a child, an animal, etc.); to cause (a thing)sustineōto hold up or upright, uphold, support, sustain; to keep up, bear up, tolerate; to hold or keep back or in, stay, check,sustentōto uphold, support, prop or sustain, maintain; to maintain or preserve by food, money, or other means; to keep in check,parsa part, portion, piece, share; pars ... pars ..., some ... others ...; a party, fraction, sideiuvōto help, aid; to delight, gratify, pleasefulcrumbedpost; foot (of a couch); couchfirmōto make firm, strengthen, harden, fortify; to say, affirm, assert; to reinforce the couragestatūmenthat upon which any thing rests.; a support, stay, prop.; a rib of a ship.
The English word support itself goes back to Latin portō, through supportō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
support v.
To prop, fulcire: statuminare: adminiculari (e.g., arborem).
To maintain, nourish, alere (PROP., of living creatures, to nourish, provide with food; hence figuratively, of things; e.g., spem, libertatem): sustinere, sustentare (to preserve from falling; of persons or things).
To aid, assist, befriend, favere alicui, alicujus rebus or partibus (to support both in will and action): alicui studere; alicujus esse studiosum (to support by affection and kindness): juvare, adjuvare aliquem (applicable both to persons and to fortunate circumstances): esse alicui adjumento; afferre alicui adjumentum (applicable to persons only): fovere aliquem: fovere ac tollere aliquem: sustinere ac fovere aliquem; gratia et auctoritate sua sustentare aliquem (to support anybody in reference to civil honors): benevolentia aliquem prosequi: benevolentiam alicui praestare, or in aliquem conferre (show him kindness, good-will, etc.): suffragari alicui (to give him one’s vote, interest, etc.).
To endure, bear, tolerare: sustinere: pati: perpeti: perferre. Able, unable, to support anything, patiens, impatiens rei alicujus.
support s.
PROP.,
A prop, fulcrum (especially of the leg of a bed, sofa, etc.): fultura (Vitr., Plin.): id quo fulcitur, sustinetur, firmatur, etc.: statumen (Col.), statuminatio (Vitr., anything placed by or under something else to support it, the latter only of the foundation or ground-work of a building): adminiculum (prop or other support of a young tree; e.g., a vine): pedamen, pedamentum (pole, as support of a tree). To place a support under anything, aliquid fulcire or statuminare. Figuratively, A stay, pillar, columen (PROP., a round wooden pillar supporting a building; then, figuratively, of a person on whom anything, e.g., the state, a business, a family, rests): firmamentum (that which makes anything firm; e.g., the state, reipublicae: firmamen only in Ov.): adminiculum (the person or thing on which anybody leans for support): praesidium (a protection; of persons or things; e.g., praesidium generis): subsidium (the person or thing to which one flies in time of need; e.g., Balbus est praesidium senectutis nostrae). Support in canvassing for an office, etc., suffragatio (Cic., vote and interest): to be the support of a person or thing, aliquem or aliquid fulcire (e.g., amicum, rempublicam): alicui esse praesidio or subsidio (e.g., alicujus senectuti). (The words are found in this connection and order.) fulcire et sustinere. To be the support of a family, domum fulcire ac sustinere: Chrysippus is looked upon as the support of the Stoic sect, Chrysippus fulcire putatur porticum Stoicorum: to give anybody to anybody as a support, dare alicui adminiculum aliquem. “Support” may also be translated by circumlocution. Anybody is my only support, omnes meae spes sunt in aliquo sitae; solus aliquis me sustentat: you will be the only remaining support of the state, tu eris unus, in quo nitatur salus civitatis (Cic.): to rest on (or have) more supports, pluribus munimentis insistere (Tac.).
Sustenance, food, victus (said of all the necessaries of life): alimenta, plur. (PROP., nourishment; hence, in a legal sense, of the necessaries of life). To furnish support, alicui victum or alimenta praebere: alicui vestitum et caetera quae opus sint ad victum praestare: means of support (a profession, trade, etc.), quaestus.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for support?
- The usual Latin words for “support” are fulciō, adminiculō, alō; also sustineō, sustentō, pars. 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.