I.to go off or away, to depart.
I. Lit.
A. In gen.: “abscede hinc, sis, sycophanta,” Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 162: “meo e conspectu,” id. Capt. 2, 3, 74: “numquam senator a curiā abscessit aut populus e foro,” Liv. 27, 50, 4; so, “a corpore (mortui),” Tac. A. 1, 7; cf. id. ib. 3, 5: “ut abscesserit inde (i. e. e castris) dictator,” Liv. 22, 25, 9: “illorum navis longe in altum abscesserat,” Plaut. Rud. prol. 66.
B. In partic.
1. Milit. t. t., to march off, to depart, retire: “non prius Thebani Spartā abscessissent quam, etc.,” Nep. Iphicr. 2 fin.: “longius ab urbe hostium,” Liv. 3, 8, 8; cf.: “a moenibus Alexandriae,” id. 44, 19, 11.—Absol.: “si urgemus obsessos, si non ante abscedimus quam, etc.,” Liv. 5, 4, 10; so Nep. Epam. 9.—Impers.: “abscedi ab hoste,” Liv. 22, 33, 10; cf. id. 27, 4, 1: “nec ante abscessum est quam, etc.,” id. 29, 2, 16; so, “a moenibus abscessum est,” id. 45, 11, 7: “manibus aequis abscessum,” Tac. A. 1, 63.
2. To disappear, withdraw, be lost from view: cor (est) in extis: jam abscedet, simul ac, etc., will disappear, Cic. Div. 2, 16 fin.—Poet.: “Pallada abscessisse mihi,” has withdrawn from me, from my power, Ov. M. 5, 375.—Of stars, to set, Plin. 2, 17, 14, § 72 al.
3. Of localities, to retire, recede, retreat: “quantum mare abscedebat,” retired, Liv. 27, 47 fin.; “so in architecture: frontis et laterum abscedentium adumbratio,” of the sides in the background, Vitr. 1, 2, 2; so id. 1, 2, 7, praef. 11.
4. With respect to the result, to retire, to escape: “abscedere latere tecto,” to escape with a whole skin, Ter. Heaut. 4, 2, 5.
II. Fig., to leave off, retire, desist from, constr. with ab, the simple abl., or absol.: labor ille a vobis cito recedet, benefactum a vobis non abscedet (followed by abibit), Cato ap. Gell. 16, 1 fin.; so, “cito ab eo haec ira abscedet,” Ter. Hec. 5, 2, 15.— With abl. only: “haec te abscedat suspicio,” Plaut. Ep. 2, 2, 100: “abscedere irrito incepto,” to desist from, Liv. 20, 7, 1.—Absol.: “aegritudo abscesserit,” Plaut. Merc. 1, 2, 29; so, “somnus,” Ov. F. 3, 307: “imago,” Plin. Ep. 7, 27, 6: “ille abscessit (sc. petitione sua),” desisted from the action, Tac. A. 2, 34: “ne quid abscederet (sc. de hereditate),” Suet. Ner. 34; so, “semper abscedente usufructu,” Dig. 7, 1, 3, § 2.
