traduce

English

WOTD – 4 June 2010

Etymology

From Latin trādūcō (“carry over; lead as a spectacle, dishonor”), from trāns + dūcō (“I lead”). Compare cognate transduce, from Latin trānsdūcō.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /tɹəˈdjuːs/, /tɹəˈdʒuːs/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /tɹəˈdus/, /tɹəˈdjus/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /tɹəˈdus/
• Rhymes: -uːs

Verb

traduce (third-person singular simple present traduces, present participle traducing, simple past and past participle traduced)

1. (transitive) To malign a person or entity by making malicious and false or defamatory statements. [from 1580s]

   Synonyms: defame, libel, slander; see also Thesaurus:defame

   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:

     This heauy headed reueale eaſt and weſt / Makes vs traduſt, and taxed of other nations, / They clip vs drunkards, and with Swiniſh phraſe / Soyle our addition […]

   • 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, I.i:

     Well I'll not debate how far Scandal may be allowable—but in a man I am sure it is always contemtable.—We have Pride, envy, Rivalship, and a Thousand motives to depreciate each other—but the male-slanderer must have the cowardice of a woman before He can traduce one.

   • 1771–1790, Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography [Part 2]”, in John Bigelow, editor, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. […], Philadelphia, Pa.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott & Co., published 1868, →OCLC, page 203:

     I am earnestly desirous then, my dear Sir, that you should let the world into the traits of your genuine character, as civil broils may otherwise tend to disguise or traduce it.

   • 1881, The Gospel in All Lands, page 176:

     “The chief men of the Jews became his enemies and traduced him to the principal persons in the town, hoping to make him ashamed or afraid.”

   • 1935, W. & E. Muir, transl., The Trial, translation of Der Prozess by Franz Kafka:

     Someone must have traduced Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.

   • 2023 November 15, Christian Wolmar, “Ministers should carry the can for ticket office fiasco”, in RAIL, number 996, page 47:

     Now, I hold no candle for the train operators, and I think that in the main they have been far too craven about any government proposals. But in this instance, they have been badly traduced, led up the hill, and then chucked back down it.

2. (archaic, transitive) To pass on (to one's children, future generations etc.); to transmit. [mid-16th c. to mid-18th c.]

   Synonyms: hand down, bequeath, leave

   • 1650, Thomas Browne, chapter X, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:

     However therefore this complexion was first acquired, it is evidently maintained by generation, and by the tincture of the skin as a spermatical part traduced from father unto son […] .

3. (archaic, transitive) To pass into another form of expression; to rephrase, to translate. [1530s to mid-19th c.]
   • 1865 Mar, “The Last of the Tercentenary”, in Temple Bar, volume XIII:

     From Davenant down to Dumas, from the Englishman who improved Macbaeth to the Frenchman who traduced into the French of Paris four acts of Hamlet, and added a new fifth act of his own, Shakespeare has been disturbed in a way he little thought of when he menacingly provided for the repose of his bones.

Usage notes

Not to be confused with transduce.

Derived terms

• traducement
• traducer
• traducing
• traducingly
• traduction

Related terms

• transduce

Translations

to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements

• Bulgarian: клеветя (bg) (klevetja), злословя (bg) (zloslovja)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 誹謗／诽谤 (zh) (fěibàng), 詆毀／诋毁 (dǐhuǐ)

• Finnish: panetella (fi)
• French: calomnier (fr), diffamer (fr)
• German: verleumden (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: βλασφημέω (blasphēméō)

• Maori: whakakinokino, whakahahani, whakarōriki, whakahariharitae, kehi, whakakino
• Romanian: defăima (ro)
• Russian: клевета́ть (ru) (klevetátʹ), злословить (ru) (zloslovitʹ), наговаривать (ru) (nagovarivatʹ), оговаривать (ru) (ogovarivatʹ)
• Spanish: calumniar (es), difamar (es)

to pass on; to transmit

• Bulgarian: предавам (bg) (predavam)
• Finnish: siirtää (fi)
• Russian: передава́ть (ru) (peredavátʹ)
• Spanish: legar (es)

to pass into another form of expression

• Finnish: sovittaa (fi)
• French: traduire (fr)
• Italian: tradurre (it)
• Portuguese: traduzir (pt)
• Spanish: traducir (es)

Anagrams

• Decatur, curated, educrat

Corsican

Alternative forms

• traducia

Etymology

From Latin traducere, from Proto-Italic *tranzdoukō. Cognates include Italian tradurre and French traduire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /traˈdut͡ʃe/
• Hyphenation: tra‧du‧ce

Verb

traduce

1. (transitive) to translate

Conjugation

    Cismontane conjugation of traduce (transitive)

infinitive			traduce
present participle			traducendu
past participle			traduttu
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		eiu	tù	ellu/ella	noi	voi	elli/elle
	present	traduciu	traduci	traduce	traducimu	traducite	traducenu
	imperfect	traducia	traducii	traducia	traduciamu	traduciate	traducianu
	simple past	tradussi	traducisti	tradusse	tradussimu	traduciste	tradussenu
	future	traduceraghju	traducerai, traducerè	traducerà	traduceremu	traducerete	traduceranu
subjunctive		eiu	tù	ellu/ella	noi	voi	elli/elle
	present	traduci	traduci	traduci	traducimu	traducite	traducinu
	imperfect	traducissi	traducissi	traducissi	traducissimu	traducissite	traducissinu
conditional		eiu	tù	ellu/ella	noi	voi	elli/elle
	present	traduceria, traducerebbi	traducerii, traduceresti, traduceristi	traduceria, traducerebbe	traduceriamu, traducerebbimu	traduceriate, traducereste, traduceriste	traducerianu, traducerebbu
imperative		–	tù	–	noi	voi	–
		—	traduci	—	traducimu	traducite	—

References

• “traduce, traducia” in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa
• “traduce, traducia” in Aiaccinu: Cunghjugatori corsu

Galician

Verb

traduce

1. inflection of traducir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /traˈdu.t͡ʃe/
• Rhymes: -utʃe
• Hyphenation: tra‧dù‧ce

Verb

traduce

1. third-person singular present indicative of tradurre

Anagrams

• creduta, decurta

Latin

Verb

trādūce

1. second-person singular present active imperative of trādūcō

Noun

trāduce

1. ablative singular of trādux

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin trādūcō, French traduire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /traˈdu.tʃe/

Verb

a traduce (third-person singular present traduce, past participle tradus) 3rd conj.

1. to translate

Conjugation

    conjugation of traduce (third conjugation, past participle in -s)

infinitive			a traduce
gerund			traducând
past participle			tradus
number		singular			plural
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	traduc	traduci	traduce	traducem	traduceți	traduc
	imperfect	traduceam	traduceai	traducea	traduceam	traduceați	traduceau
	simple perfect	tradusei	traduseși	traduse	traduserăm	traduserăți	traduseră
	pluperfect	tradusesem	traduseseși	tradusese	traduseserăm	traduseserăți	traduseseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	să traduc	să traduci	să traducă	să traducem	să traduceți	să traducă
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		tradu			traduceți
	negative		nu traduce			nu traduceți

Derived terms

• traducere

Related terms

• duce

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /tɾaˈduθe/ [t̪ɾaˈð̞u.θe]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /tɾaˈduse/ [t̪ɾaˈð̞u.se]
• (Spain) Rhymes: -uθe
• (Latin America) Rhymes: -use
• Syllabification: tra‧du‧ce

Verb

traduce

1. inflection of traducir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative