English → Latin
“urgent” in Latin
gravisheavy; pregnant; troublesome, hardmagnusgreat, large, big; (of things) vast, extensive, spacious (of physical size or quantity); great, grand, mighty, noble, losuperusabove, upper, higherurgeōto press, push, force, drive, urge (forward); to stimulate; to weigh down, burden, oppress; to crowd, hem in, confinecontendōto hurry; to stretch, draw tight, make taut, strain; to place together in comparison, compare, contrast
The English word urgent itself goes back to Latin urgeō, through urgēns.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
urgent
gravis, magni momenti (weighty): maximus: summus (very great). Urgent danger, periculum praesens; urgent prayers, curatissimae preces (Tac., Ann., 1, 13, 3); omnes preces (e.g., omnibus precibus petere aliquid, contendere, ut, etc.): at my urgent entreaty, orante me atque obsecrante: urgent necessity, necessitas: necessarium. ☞ Urgens, in the sense of “pressing,” is very late; urgentior causa, Tert.; instans, -tior, Tac., Gell., etc.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for urgent?
- The usual Latin words for “urgent” are gravis, magnus, superus; also urgeō, contendō. 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.