English → Latin
“undermine” in Latin
suffodiōto dig or pierce underneath, dig or burrow under, pierce or bore through; sap, undermine; to pierce, stab or prod underncunīculusa rabbit; a rabbit burrow; a mine, underground tunnel or gallerysubtrahōto pull out from under; to remove, withdraw, subtract; to withdraw, retireēvertōto turn upside down, overturn, reverse; to upset, disturb, agitate, roil; to throw down, cause to falllabefactōto weaken; to cause to shake or totter; to destroy, ruin; to overthrowlībertāsliberty, freedom; civil liberty; political liberty, independencerēspūblicaa republic, commonwealth; the state, nation; politics, civil affairs
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
undermine
PROP., suffodere (to hollow underneath by digging): subruere (general term, to overthrow from beneath; e.g., a wall): cuniculo or cuniculis subruere or subtrahere (to make a mine under for the purpose of destroying; e.g., a wall. ☞ Plin. uses cavare oppida crebris cuniculis). A town that is undermined, a cuniculis suffossum oppidum.
Figuratively, subruere (to overthrow, destroy; e.g., libertatem): evertere (to overthrow; e.g., rempublicam): labefactare (to make to totter or fall; e.g., rempublicam, amicitiam, justitiam).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for undermine?
- The usual Latin words for “undermine” are suffodiō, cunīculus, subtrahō; also ēvertō, labefactō, lībertās. 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.