What is the Latin word for tail?

The usual Latin words for “tail” are cauda, iactō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“tail” in Latin

caudatail (animal appendage)iactōto throw, cast, hurl; to scatter, toss; to disturb, disquiet, torment, agitate, shock

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

tail

cauda (☞ not coda). A little tail, cauda parva: caudicula (in later writers): to wag the tail, caudam movere or jactare (alicui): to drop the tail, caudam sub alvum reflectere: the tail of a comet, stellae crines: to tie up a horse’s tail, *caudae setas in nodum colligere.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for tail?: The usual Latin words for “tail” are cauda, iactō. 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.