I. Prop., a small piece or lump of earth, a clod (cf. gramen, herba, faenum, caespes): “ingens,” Lucr. 6, 553: “glaebis terrarum saepe friatis,” id. 1, 887: “fecundae,” id. 1, 212; so Verg. G. 1, 94; Hor. C. 3, 6, 39: “si glaebis aut saxis aut fustibus aliquem de fundo praecipitem egeris ... non esse arma cespites neque glaebas, etc.,” Cic. Caecin. 21, 60: “omnes, qui ullam agri glaebam possiderent,” Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 11, § 28; so, “nec ulli glaeba ulla agri assignaretur,” Liv. 4, 11; cf. “also: non adimi cuiquam glaebam,” Cic. Agr. 3, 1, 3: “nam priusquam in os injecta glaeba est, locus ille, ubi crematum est corpus, nihil habet religionis,” id. Leg. 2, 22, 57; cf. Varr. L. L. 5, 4, 9, § 23; “and Fest. s. v. praecidanea, p. 223: ex fundo glaeba sumebatur,” Gai. Inst. 4, 17: “ornare glaebam virentem,” i. e. an altar built of turf, Juv. 12, 85; v. also glaebula.—
II. Transf.
A. Land, soil: “terra antiqua potens armis atque ubere glaebae,” Verg. A. 1, 531: “glebae felices,” App. M. p. 102, 7.—
B. Of other things, a piece, lump, mass: “sevi ac picis glaebae,” Caes. B. G. 7, 25; so, “turis,” Lucr. 3, 328; Stat. Th. 6, 60: “marmoris,” Plin. 36, 6, 8, § 50: “salis,” id. 31, 7, 39, ζ 73: “sulphuris,” id. 35, 15, 50, § 175: “lactis,” Nemes. Ecl. 3 fin.—
C. (Late Lat.), = pensio or canon praedio incumbens, a tax imposed upon the land of senators, Cod. Th. 6, 2, 10; ib. 12, 1, 138; Symm. Ep. 4, 61.
