English → Latin
“undertake” in Latin
incipiōto begin, to commencesūmōto take, take up, catch, assume, seize, claim, arrogate; to undertake, begin, enter upon; to exact satisfaction, inflictsuscipiōto take up, acknowledge; to undertake, assume, begin, incur, enter upon (especially when done voluntarily and as a favorrecipiōto take back, (i.e., regain possession of something); to recapture; to receive, accept, admitmōliorto strive, endeavor, work at; to put in motion, shake, move; to rouse, bestircōnorto try, attemptaudeōto dare, venture, risk; to be eager for battlelaborwork; labor, toil, exertion; hardship, trouble, fatigue, suffering, drudgery, distress
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
undertake
incipere (to begin, especially in a bold or spirited manner): aggredi aliquid or ad aliquid (to attack): sumere (to take in hand): suscipere (to take upon one’s self): recipere (to become responsible for): moliri (to endeavor to accomplish something difficult or laborious; this is construed also with an infinitive): conari (to begin something that requires effort and pain; usually with an infinitive): audere (to attempt something dangerous or hazardous; usually with an infinitive): To undertake a work or labor, laborem sumere, suscipere, or recipere: to undertake a war, bellum incipere, sumere, or suscipere: to undertake a journey, iter incipere, aggredi, or inire (to enter upon): iter suscipere (as a business or charge):
Engage [Vid. ENGAGE, intransitively].
To undertake the care or charge of, curare: tueri (to keep in one’s sight or care): recipere, suscipere (to take upon one’s self, the latter especially from one’s own impulse; all followed by an accusative). To undertake the charge of anybody, curare de aliquo diligenter (to take care of): prospicere or consulere alicui: consulere et prospicere alicujus rationibus (to consult his good): aliquem tueri or defendere (to protect, defend him): aliquem tueri et defendere, or aliquem tueri eique consulere; suscipere or recipere aliquem; adesse alicui (especially in a court of justice). To undertake the entire charge of anybody, totum aliquem suscipere ac tueri: to cease to undertake the charge of anybody, aliquem abjicere: not to undertake anybody’s cause, deesse alicui (especially in a court of justice): to undertake the care of anything, curam alicujus rei suscipere: tueri et defendere rem (to defend): causam suscipere or recipere; causam tueri (in a court of justice). To undertake the care of the commonwealth, the state, suscipere salutem reipublicae: to undertake the management of anything in good earnest, incumbere in rem (☞ not alicui rei): with the utmost zeal, omni cogitatione curaque incumbere in rem: not to undertake the care of a thing, rem negligere.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for undertake?
- The usual Latin words for “undertake” are incipiō, sūmō, suscipiō; also recipiō, mōlior, cōnor. 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.