English → Latin
“topsy-turvy” in Latin
perturbōto confuse; to disturb or perturb, trouble or alarmVelleiusof or pertaining to the gens Velleia.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
topsy-turvy
perturbate: permiste. To turn topsy-turvy, summa deorsum versare; miscere ac perturbare omnia (Marcus Tullius Cic.): miscere summa imis (Velleius, 2, 2). Here everything is turned topsy-turvy, hic summa deorsum versantur, or summa imis miscentur, or caelum terra et mare caelo miscetur (after Juv., 2, 25).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for topsy-turvy?
- The usual Latin words for “topsy-turvy” are perturbō, Velleius. 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.