vates

V4A1T1E1S1
/ˈveɪtiz/

noun

A poet or bard who is divinely inspired.

OriginLatin vātēs ← Proto-Indo-European *weh₂t- →
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Meanings

nounvates (plural vates)
  1. A poet or bard who is divinely inspired.

    The volume is haunted by the death of the vates (poet-prophet) Orpheus, who failed to revive Eurydice from death and was then torn apart by maenads.

    1999, Dennis Richard Danielson, The Cambridge Companion to Milton, Cambridge University Press, page 57
    1 more example

    [Percy Bysshe] Shelley, a true vates, was called upon by their divine influence to render some choice passages from this very Faust, which, from confessed inability, [Francis Leveson-]Gower had left unattempted in his precious version, and some which from other motives he had purposely reticensed.

    1833 May, “Hayward’s Translation of Goethe’s “Faust””, in Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country, volume VII, number XLI, London: James Fraser […], →OCLC, page 532, column 1

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*weh₂t-“excited, possessed”
  2. Latinvātēs
  3. Englishvates

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.

More words from Latin, Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian оват
  • оват (ovat)divinely inspired poet
Catalan vat
  • vatdivinely inspired poet
Finnish vaatti
  • vaattidivinely inspired poet
French vate
  • vatedivinely inspired poet
Hungarian vátesz
  • váteszdivinely inspired poet
Polish wieszcz
  • wieszczdivinely inspired poet
Portuguese vate
  • vatedivinely inspired poet
Spanish vate
  • vatedivinely inspired poet
Welsh vates
  • vatesdivinely inspired poet

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

vestastaveSveta
Cite this entry
APA

vates. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vates

MLA

“vates.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vates. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vates,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vates.

Source: vates on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.