I. Lit., thick, crowded, close, compact, dense (mostly poet and in post-Aug. prose; “syn.: crassus, densas): durata ac spissa,” Lucr. 2, 444: “corpus,” id. 6, 127: “liquor,” Ov. M. 12, 438: “sanguis,” id. ib. 11, 367: “aër,” id. ib. 1, 23: “grando,” id. ib. 9, 222 et saep.: “corona Non tam spissa viris,” Verg. A. 9, 509; so, “coronae,” Hor. A. P. 381: “sedilia,” id. ib. 205: “theatra,” id. Ep. 1, 19, 41: “coma,” id. C. 3, 19, 25; cf.: “nemorum comae,” id. ib. 4, 3, 11: “ramis laurea,” id. ib. 2, 15, 9: “harena,” Verg. A. 5, 336; cf. “litus,” Ov. M. 15, 718: “tunica,” of a close texture, Plaut. Ep. 2, 2, 46: “navis juncturis aquam excludentibus,” Sen. Ep. 76: “caligo,” Ov. M. 7, 528: “noctis umbrae,” Verg. A. 2, 621: “tenebrae,” Petr. 114, 3: “nubes,” Ov. Am. 1, 13, 30; id. M. 5, 621; Curt. 4, 3, 16; 8, 13, 24.—Comp.: “semen,” Col. 4, 33, 3: “ignis,” Luc. 9, 604.—Sup.: “spississima arbor (ebenus et buxus),” Plin. 16, 40, 76, § 204: minimum ex nequitiā levissimumque ad alios redundat; “quod pessimum ex illā est et, ut ita dicam, spississimum, domi remanet et premit habentem,” Sen. Ep. 81, 21.—
B. Transf., of time.
1. Slow, tardy, late (rare but class.): “omnia tarda et spissa,” Cic. Att. 16, 18, 2; cf.: “in utroque genere dicendi exitus spissi et producti esse debent,” id. de Or. 2, 53, 213.—
2. Spissum illud amanti est verbum, Veniet nisi venit, Plaut. Cist. 1, 1, 77: nihil ego spei credo, omnes res spissas facit, Caecil. ap. Non. 392, 15; Pac., Titin., and Turp. ib. sq.: haruspices si quid boni promittunt, pro spisso evenit; “Id quod mali promittunt, praesentiarum est,” slowly, late, Plaut. Poen. 3, 5, 47.—
3. Thick, i. e. in quick succession, rapid, frequent, fast, = continuus, creber (very rare): “spississima basia,” Petr. 31, 1.—
II. Trop., hard, difficult (rare but class.): spissum sane opus et operosum, Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 14, 1: “si id erit spissius,” id. Fam. 2, 10, 4: “si est aliquanto spissius,” id. de Or. 3, 36, 145.—Hence, adv.: spissē .
1. Thickly, closely: “calcare carbones,” Plin. 36, 25, 63, § 188.—Comp., Col. 2, 9, 2; Plin. 29, 2, 9, § 31. —
2. Transf.
