English → Latin
“tact” in Latin
dexteritāsdexterity, aptness, readiness; prosperity, felicitysollersskilled, skilful, clever, dexterous, adroit, expert; ingenious, sagacious, clever, intelligent, inventivecalliditāsshrewdness, readiness, aptness; skill, skilfulness; cunning, craft, slyness, artfulnessprūdēnswise, prudent; skilful, knowledgeable (in a specific matter)perītiaexperience; practical knowledge (gained by experience); expertise; skillhabilisable to have/possess/maintain; having sufficient ability or power to do or to conduct; skillful; suitable, apt, fit, pro
The English word tact itself goes back to Latin tangō, through tāctus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
tact
naturalis quidam sensus (e.g., non arte aliqua sed naturali quodam sensu judicare aliquid); ingenii dexteritas, or dexteritas only (ad aliquid, Liv., of tact in conduct toward others; in the sense of “adroitness” generally, it is not Latin): sollertia, calliditas, prudentia, peritia; ingenium ad aliquid aptum or habile (natural adroitness, in a particular respect). By a certain tact, naturali quodam bono (Nep., Thras., 1).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for tact?
- The usual Latin words for “tact” are dexteritās, sollers, calliditās; also prūdēns, perītia, habilis. 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.