Standard Lemma guide

vates

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈveɪtiz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A poet or bard who is divinely inspired.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin vātēs, from Proto-Indo-European *weh2t- (“excited, possessed”); cognate with Proto-Celtic *wātis (“seer”) (Gaulish ουατεις, Old Irish fáith, Welsh gwawd) and Proto-Germanic *wōdaz (“mad”) (Old English wōd (“mad, frenzied”), Gothic 𐍅𐍉𐌳𐍃 (wōds, “possessed, mad”), Old High German wuot (“mad, madness”). More at wood (“crazy, mad, insane”) and wode.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: оват (ovat) — divinely inspired poet
  • Catalan: vat — divinely inspired poet
  • Finnish: vaatti — divinely inspired poet
  • French: vate — divinely inspired poet
  • Hungarian: vátesz — divinely inspired poet
  • Polish: wieszcz — divinely inspired poet
  • Portuguese: vate — divinely inspired poet
  • Spanish: vate — divinely inspired poet
  • Welsh: vates — divinely inspired poet