English → Latin
“workman” in Latin
opifexSomeone who does work (especially creative or constructive); worker, maker, framer, fabricator, workman, mechanic, artifartifexartist, actor; craftsman, master (of a craft); mastermind, schemerfaberartisan, craftsman, architect, creator, maker, artificer, forger, smith, carpentersellulāriuschair, seatfabrīlisartificial; workman, artificer, carpenter
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
workman
opifex (general term): artifex (an artisan, a handicraftsman who employs skill, although only mechanical): faber (one who works in hard materials, usually with an adjective, denoting his occupation; e.g., faber tignarius, a carpenter; faber ferrarius, a smith. Hence, artisans employed in a building, and those in the army employed in fortifying a camp, etc., were called fabri; Vid: Herzog, Caes., B.G., 5, 11; also, Cic., Cat., 4, 8, 17, includes workmen in the expression, qui in tabernis sunt): the commonest workman, opifex vilissimae mercis: a workman who sits at his work, sellularius (in Liv., 8, 20, distinguished from opifex: opificum vulgus et sellularii); sedentaria cujus opera est (Col., 12, 3, 8): workman’s tools, fabrilia (plur.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for workman?
- The usual Latin words for “workman” are opifex, artifex, faber; also sellulārius, fabrīlis. 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.