LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
verbsecond conjugation, deponent

fateor

fateor (present infinitive fatērī or fatērier, perfect active fassus sum)
Classical[ˈfa.te.ɔr]Ecclesiastical[ˈfaː.te.or]
fatendus fut. pass. ptcp.№ 689 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. deponentto confess, admit
    PAMPHILUS: Ego mē amāre hanc fateor; sī id peccāre est, fateor id quoque.PAMPHILUS: I admit that I love her; if that is a sin, I admit that, too.166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 896
    Anna, fatēbor enim, [...].“Anna — yes, I will admit [it] — ….”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.20
  2. deponentto acknowledge, own
  3. deponentto show, indicate

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

vērum dīcō dē mē ipsō; culpam fatērī.
fateor -ērī fassus — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Fateri · Profiteri · Confiteri

Fateri means to disclose, without any accessory notion, in opp. to celare, Liv. xxiv. 5. Curt. vi. 9; profiteri means to avow, freely and openly, without fear and reserve, whether questioned or not; confiteri, to confess in consequence of questions, menaces, compulsion. The professio has its origin in a noble consciousness, when a man disdains concealment, and is not ashamed of that which he has kept secret; the confessio, in an ignoble consciousness, when a man gives up his secret out of weakness, and is ashamed of that which he confesses. Cic. Cæc. 9, 24. Ita libenter confitetur, ut non solum fateri, sed etiam profiteri videatur. Planc. 25, 62. Rabir. perd. 5. (iv. 30.)

Conjugation conjugation 2 deponent

active indicative
formpresentimperfectfutureperfectpluperfectfut. perfect
1st sg.fateorfatēbarfatēbor———
2nd sg.fatēris
fatēre
fatēbāris
fatēbāre
fatēberis
fatēbere
———
3rd sg.fatēturfatēbāturfatēbitur———
1st pl.fatēmurfatēbāmurfatēbimur———
2nd pl.fatēminīfatēbāminīfatēbiminī———
3rd pl.fatenturfatēbanturfatēbuntur———
active subjunctive
active subjunctive
formpresentimperfectperfectpluperfect
1st sg.fatearfatērer——
2nd sg.fateāris
fateāre
fatērēris
fatērēre
——
3rd sg.fateāturfatērētur——
1st pl.fateāmurfatērēmur——
2nd pl.fateāminīfatērēminī——
3rd pl.fateanturfatērentur——
imperative
imperative
formactivepassive
pres. 2nd sg.fatēre—
pres. 2nd pl.fatēminī—
fut. 2nd sg.fatētor—
fut. 3rd sg.fatētor—
fut. 3rd pl.fatentor—
infinitives & participles
formactivepassive
present infinitivefatērī
fatērier
—
perfect infinitivefassum esse—
future infinitivefassūrum esse—
present participlefatēns—
perfect participlefassus
fassa, fassā, fassae, fassam, fassārum, fassās, fasse, fassī, fassīs, fassō, fassōrum, fassōs
—
future participlefassūrus
fassūra, fassūrā, fassūrae, fassūram, fassūrārum, fassūrās, fassūre, fassūrī, fassūrīs, fassūrō, fassūrōrum, fassūrōs, fassūrum
fatendus
fatenda, fatendā, fatendae, fatendam, fatendārum, fatendās, fatende, fatendīs, fatendōrum, fatendōs
gerundfatendī, fatendō, fatendumsupinefassum, fassū

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

audio, fateor
I admit it, say on.

fătĕor, fassus, 2 (archaic
I. inf. praes. faterier, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 148), v. dep. a. [from the root ΦΑ, φάω, fari], to confess, own, grant, acknowledge.
I. Prop. (freq. and class.; syn.: confiteor, profiteor); construed for the most part with acc. and inf. as object; rarely with the acc., de, or absol.
(a). With acc.: si verum mihi eritis fassae, vinclis exsolvemini, Plaut. Truc. 4, 3, 10: so, verum fateri, Plin. 27, 1, 1, § 2; Curt. 6, 3: ut verius fatear, Eum. Grat. Act. 1: quid fatebor? Plaut. Capt. 3, 4, 3; 2, 2, 67: multi in tormentis mori maluerunt falsum fatendo quam infitiando dolere, Cic. Part. 14, 50: peccatum, culpam, Ov. Tr. 1, 315; Hor. S. 2, 4, 4: delicta, Ov. M. 4, 685: mores suos, Quint. 10, 1, 100: sensus suos, Ov. H. 21, 204: paupertatem, id. M. 8, 634 et saep.—Prov.: fatetur facinus, si quis judicium fugit, Pub. Syr. 174 Rib.—
(b). With acc. and inf. as object: fateor atque etiam profiteor et prae me fero, te, etc., Cic. Rab. Perd. 5, 17: me despexe ad te per impluvium tuum, Fateor, Plaut. Mil. 2, 6, 73: fateor eam esse importunam, id. As. 1, 1, 47: si quis contra rem publicam se amici causa fecisse fateatur, Cic. Lael. 12, 40: qui se debere fateantur, *Caes. B. C. 3, 20, 3: cum se Cicero ab illis plurimum fateatur adjutum, Quint. 10, 1, 40: fateor me duci ventre, Hor. S. 2, 7, 37: jura inventa metu injusti fateare necesse est, id. ib. 1, 3, 111; id. Ep. 2, 1, 85: hominum igitur causa eas rerum copias comparatas fatendum est, Cic. N. D. 2, 63, 158.—With ellips. of acc.: fateor peccavisse, Plaut. Most. 5, 2, 18: non didici sane nescire fateri, Hor. A. P. 418.—With two acc.: cum se servum fateatur tuum, Ter. Eun. 5, 2, 24: eum (i. e. Jovem) ipsi lapides hominem fatebuntur, Lact. 1, 11, 28: fassus hujus se spectaculi debitorem, Sen. Contr. 1, 1, 11.—
(g). With de: cum de facto turpi aliquo aut inutili aut utroque fateatur, Cic. Inv. 2, 26, 77.—
(d). Absol.: ita libenter confitetur, ut non solum fateri, sed etiam profiteri videatur, Cic. Caecin. 9, 24: Me. Est tibi nomen Menaechmo? M. Fateor, Plaut. Men. 5, 9, 48: leno sum, fateor, Ter. Ad. 2, 1, 34: non potest sine malo fateri, id. Eun. 4, 4, 47: qui a Naevio vel sumpsisti multa, si fateris, vel, si negas, surripuisti, Cic. Brut. 19, 76; cf. Quint. 5, 12, 13: nulline faterier audes? Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 148: in fatendo lenis et summissa (vox), Quint. 11, 3, 63: ad fatendum impulsus, id. 5, 13, 46: da veniam fasso, Ov. P. 4, 2, 23; parenthetically: fateor, Plaut. Aul. 4.4, 16: fatebor enim, Verg. E. 1, 31; id. A. 4, 20; Ov. M. 9, 362 al.—
II. Transf.
A. In gen., to discover, show, indicate, manifest (rare; not in Cic.): Laterensis nostri et fidem et animum singularem in rem publicam semper fatebor, bear witness to, Planc. ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 23, 4; Quint. 1, 6, 23: innocentem fuisse patrem fatetur, id. 7, 1, 56; 1, 10, 37: utque sedet vultu fassus Telamonius iram, Ov. Tr. 2, 525: patinarum calore pisces vitalem motum fateri, Plin. 9, 57, 83, § 177: mors sola fatetur, Quantula sint hominum corpuscula, Juv. 10, 172; 15, 132: properabo fateri, quae, etc., id. 3, 59: Belus amnis non nisi refuso mari harenas fatetur, Plin. 36, 26, 65, § 190.—
B. In gram. lang.: fatendi modus, the indicative, Quint. 1, 6, 7; Varr. L. L. 8, 5, 8.!*?
1. In pass. signif.: hunc (agrum) excipere nominatim, qui publicus esse fateatur, Cic. Agr. 2, 21, 57 (dub.).—
2. Impers.: vulgo fatebatur, utique minorem eum legasse, Dig. 30, 1, 39, § 6.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *fatēōr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”); the stem fat- seemingly comes from Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂-tó-s (“spoken”) (cognate with Ancient Greek φᾰτός (phătós)) or Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂-t- (“who speaks”). Related to Latin for (“to speak, to say”), Latin fātum (“fate”), Latin fāma (“fame, reputation”), Ancient Greek φήμη (phḗmē, “talk”).

In English words that came into English from fateor

  • professorprofessor
  • confessioncōnfessiō
  • professionprofessiō
  • confessconfessus
  • professprofitērī
  • confessorcōnfessor
  • confitentconfitens
  • confiteorcōnfiteor

Quick answers

What does fateor mean in Latin?
fateor, a verb, means “to confess, admit; to acknowledge, own; to show, indicate”.
What are the principal parts of fateor?
fateor, fatērī, fassus sum (second conjugation, deponent).
How do you pronounce fateor?
In classical Latin, [ˈfa.te.ɔr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈfaː.te.or].
Which English words come from fateor?
English words that go back to Latin fateor include confess, profess, confitent, confiteor, professor and confession.