What is the Latin word for thorough?

The usual Latin words for “thorough” are vērus, germānus, subtīlis; also acuō, accūrō, exquīrō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“thorough” in Latin

vērustrue, real, actual (conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct); true, genuine (not counterfei germānusof brothers or sisters; full, own; true, natural, authentic subtīlisfine, thin, slender; precise, accurate, keen; plain, unadorned, simple acuōto make pointed, sharpen, whet; to exercise, practice, improve; to spur, stimulate, arouse accūrōto take care of, do something with care, attend or give attention to exquīrōto seek or seek out, search for or hunt up; to inquire into

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

thorough

Complete, verus: germanus (but ☞ before another adjective vere must be used, not verus: a thorough Ciceronian, *vere Ciceronianus): subtilis (of a person who performs anything with ingenuity, accuracy, or precision; of a thing done with such ingenuity, etc.): acutus: in anything, aliqua re or ad aliquid faciendum (of a person, who penetrates to the very pith of a matter; of a thing made or done by such a person): accuratus (made or done with care and exactness; only of things): exquisitus. (The words are found in this connection and order.) exquisitus et minime vulgaris: reconditus et exquisitus (above the ordinary; of persons and things). ☞ Solidus is used by good modern writers in the sense of “thorough,” but without any ancient authority. A thorough scholar, exquisita doctrina homo (who possesses more than ordinary learning); vir omnibus artibus perpolitus (a varied and extensive information): a thorough philosopher, philosophus subtilis; philosophus acutus: thorough scholarship, doctrina exquisita: to have a thorough knowledge of the Latin language, bene (more strongly optime) Latine scire: to have a thorough acquaintance with Latin litterature, in Latinis litteris multum versatum esse. “Thorough” may often be translated by summus, maximus, with or without omnium; by caput or princeps with a genitive; by totus ex aliqua re factus est or constat; versatus est in omni genere alicujus rei. In Plaut., by compounds with the Greek tri (trifur; triscurria): a thorough rogue, trifurcifer (comedy); caput scelerum (Plaut.); princeps flagitiorum (Cic.); veterator. Sometimes by a superlative adjective: a thorough fool, stolidissimus, stultissimus.

That goes through, per locum penetrans: locum lustrans.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for thorough?: The usual Latin words for “thorough” are vērus, germānus, subtīlis; also acuō, accūrō, exquīrō. 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.