I.inf. differrier, Lucr. 1, 1088. In tmesi: “disque tulissent,” Plaut. Trin. 4, 1, 14), v. a. and n.
I. Act., to carry different ways; to spread abroad, scatter, disperse, separate (cf.: reicere, proferre, procrastinare, producere, ampliare, prorogare—class.).
A. Lit.: “scintillas agere ac late differre favillam,” Lucr. 2, 675; cf.: “favillam longe (ventus),” id. 6, 692: “nubila (vis venti),” id. 1, 273; Verg. G. 3, 197: “ignem (ventus),” Caes. B. C. 2, 14, 2: “casae venti magnitudine ignem distulerunt,” id. B. G. 5, 43, 2: “majorem partem classis (vis Africi),” Vell. 2, 79, 2: “rudentes fractosque remos (Eurus),” Hor. Epod. 10, 6 et saep.; cf. Plaut. Trin. 4, 1, 14: “nos cum scapha tempestas dextrovorsum Differt ab illis,” id. Rud. 2, 3, 39; cf. Lucr. 1, 1088: cytisum, to plant apart, in separate rows = disserere, digerere, Varr. R. R. 1, 43; Col. 11, 3, 30 sq.; 38; 42 al.; cf.: “ulmos in versum,” Verg. G. 4, 144: “ut formicae frustillatim (te) differant,” Plaut. Curc. 4, 4, 20; cf.: “insepulta membra (lupi),” Hor. Epod. 5, 99; and: “Mettum in diversa (quadrigae),” Verg. A. 8, 643. —
B. Trop.
1. To distract, disquiet, disturb a person (only ante-class.): vorsor in amoris rota miser, Exanimor, feror, differor, distrahor, diripior, Plaut. Cist. 2, 1, 5: “differor clamore,” id. Ep. 1, 2, 15: “cupidine ejus,” id. Poen. 1, 1, 28; cf.: “amore istius,” id. Mil. 4, 4, 27: “laetitia,” id. Truc. 4, 1, 3: “doloribus,” Ter. Ad. 3, 4, 40.—Less freq. act.: “aliquem dictis,” to confound, Plaut. Ps. 1, 3, 125; cf. Ter. And. 2, 4, 5 Ruhnk.—
2. To spread abroad, publish, divulge; with a personal object, to cry down, to defame (mostly anteclass. and post-Aug.; not in Cic., Caes., or Sall.).
(α).
With acc. rei: cum de me ista foris sermonibus differs, Lucil. ap. Non. 284, 16; cf.: “rumores famam differant licebit nosque carpant,” Varr. ib. 18: “commissam libertatem populo Rom. sermonibus,” Liv. 34, 49: “promissum jus anulorum fama distulit,” Suet. Caes. 33.—With acc. and inf.: “ne mi hanc famam differant, Me dedidisse, etc.,” Plaut. Trin. 3, 2, 63; Ter. Heaut. prol. 16; Nep. Dion. 10; Val. Fl. 1, 753.—With quasi and dependent clause: “rumore ab obtrectatoribus dilato, quasi eundem mox et discruciatum necasset,” Suet. Aug. 14 et saep.—Pass. impers.: “quo pertinuit differri etiam per externos, tamquam veneno interceptus esset,” Tac. A. 3, 12; cf. id. ib. 4, 25.—
(β).
With acc. pers.: “aliquem pipulo,” Plaut. Aul. 3, 2, 32 (cf. Varr. L. L. 7, § 103 Müll., and see pipulum): aliquem maledicendo sermonibus, Lucil. ap. Non. 284, 24: “dominos variis rumoribus,” Tac. A. 1, 4: “te circum omnes alias puellas,” to bring into disrepute with them, Prop. 1, 4, 22.—In the pass.: differor sermone miser, Caecil. ap. Gell. 2, 93, 10: “alterna differor invidia,” Prop. 1, 16, 48.—
3. With reference to time, to defer, put off, protract, delay any thing; with a personal object also to put off, amuse with promises, get rid of (class. and very freq.).
(α).
With acc. rei: “cetera praesenti sermoni reserventur: hoc tamen non queo differre, etc.,” Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 8: “differre quotidie ac procrastinare rem,” id. Rosc. Am. 9 fin.: “saepe vadimonia,” id. Quint. 5 fin.: “iter in praesentia,” Caes. B. C. 3, 85, 4: “pleraque (with omittere in praesens tempus),” Hor. A. P. 44: “distulit ira sitim,” Ov. M. 6, 366 et saep.: “differri jam hora non potest,” Cic. Phil. 6, 7, 19: “tempus,” id. ib. 8, 8; id. Prov. Cons. 11 fin.; Liv. 3, 46; Ov. M. 1, 724 al.: “diem de die,” Liv. 25, 25 et saep.—With inf.: “quaerere distuli,” Hor. Od. 4, 4, 21; so Liv. 42, 2 (but not Suet. Caes. 81, where agere belongs to proposuerat, cf. id. Aug. 72; id. Calig. 49).—With quin: “nihil dilaturi, quin periculum summae rerum facerent,” Liv. 6, 22 fin.; so Suet. Caes. 4; with in and acc.: “reliqua in crastinum,” Cic. Rep. 2, 44 fin.: “in posterum diem,” id. Deiot. 7, 21; cf. Caes. B. C. 1, 65 fin.: “in posterum,” Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 32; Caes. B. G. 7, 11, 5: “in aliud tempus,” Cic. Brut. 87; Caes. B. C. 1, 86, 2: “in adventum tuum,” Cic. Fam. 2, 3 fin.: “diem edicti in a. d. IV. Kal. Dec.,” id. Phil. 3, 8, 20: “curandi tempus in annum,” Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 39 et saep. —Poet.: “tropaea in pueros suos,” to reserve for, Prop. 4, 6, 82.—Rarely with ad: “aliquid ad crudelitatis tempus,” Cic. Vat. 11 fin.; cf. the foll.—
(β).
With acc. pers.: “sin autem differs me in tempus aliud,” Cic. Fam. 5, 12, 10; Liv. 26, 51; 41, 8: “differri non posse adeo concitatos animos,” id. 7, 14: “dilatus per frustrationem,” id. 25, 25; cf.: “aliquem variis frustrationibus,” Just. 9, 6 fin.: “Campanos,” Liv. 26, 33: “aliquem petentem,” Suet. Vesp. 23 Ern.: “caros amicos (opp. properare),” Mart. 13, 55 et saep.— Poet.: vivacem anum, to preserve alive, i. e. to postpone her death, Ov. M. 13, 519; cf.: “decimum dilatus in annum (belli) Hector erat,” id. ib. 12, 76: “aliquem in spem impetrandi tandem honoris,” Liv. 39, 32: “aliquem in septimum diem,” Suet. Tib. 32; id. Caes. 82 Oud.; id. Aug. 44 fin. et saep.— Rarely with ad: “legati ad novos magistratus dilati,” Liv. 41, 8: “aliquem ad finem muneris,” Suet. Vit. 12: “quas (legationes) par tim dato responso ex itinere dimisit, partim distulit Tarraconem,” Liv. 26, 51.—Once with post: “aliquid post bellum differre,” Liv. 4, 6, 4.—
II. Neut., to differ, be different (esp. freq. since the Ciceron. period—cf.: “discrepare, distare, interesse): qui re consentientes vocabulis differebant,” Cic. Fin. 4, 2 fin.; cf.: “naturis differunt, voluntate autem similes sunt,” id. de Or. 2, 23: verbo differre, re esse unum, id. Caecin. 21, 59: “distare aliquid aut ex aliqua parte differre,” id. ib. 14: “nihil aut non fere multum differre,” id. Brut. 40 fin.: “paulum differre,” id. Agr. 2, 31, 85 et saep.: “nec quicquam differre, utrumne ... an, etc.,” Hor. S. 2, 3, 251; cf.: “quid enim differt, barathrone Dones quicquid habes, an? etc.,” id. ib. 166.—
(β).
With ab: “ita ut pauxillum differat a cavillulis,” Plaut. Truc. 3, 2, 18: “quidnam esset illud, quo ipsi (poëtae) differrent ab oratoribus,” Cic. Or. 19, 66; id. Off. 1, 27 fin.: “quid hoc ab illo differt?” id. Caecin. 14: “non multum ab hostili expugnatione,” id. de Imp. Pomp. 5 fin.: “multum a Gallica consuetudine,” Caes. B. G. 5, 14; cf. ib. 6, 21; 6, 28, 5: “hoc fere ab reliquis differunt, quod, etc.,” id. ib. 6, 18, 3 et saep.—
(γ).
With inter (esp. impers.): “si nihil inter deum et deum differt,” Cic. N. D. 1, 29, 80; id. Off. 1, 28, 99; id. Fin. 4, 25, 70: “nequid inter privatum et magistratum differat,” id. Rep. 1, 43: “ut non multum differat inter summos et mediocres viros,” id. Off. 2, 8, 30: multa sunt alia, quae inter locum et locum plurimum differunt (for which, shortly before, inter locorum naturas quantum intersit), id. Fat. 4: “haec cogitatione inter se differunt, re quidem copulata sunt,” id. Tusc. 4, 11: inter se aliqua re, id. Opt. gen. 2, 6; id. N. D. 1, 7, 16; Caes. B. G. 1, 1, 2; 6, 11, 1; Quint. 12, 10, 22; 34; 67 et saep.: “quae quidem inter se plurimum differunt,” id. 5, 14, 27.—
(δ).
Rarely with cum: “occasio cum tempore hoc differt,” Cic. Inv. 1, 27: “hoc genus causae cum superiore hoc differt, quod, etc.,” id. ib. 2, 30, 92 Orell. N. cr.—(ε) Likewise rarely, differre in aliqua re, Lucr. 3, 314; Nep. Ages. 7 fin.—(ζ) Rarely, and only poet. or in post-Aug. prose, with dat.: “quod pede certo Differt sermoni sermo merus,” Hor. S. 1, 4, 48: “tragico differre colori,” id. A. P. 236; Quint. 2, 21, 10; Plin. 9, 35, 54, § 107; cf. id. 9, 8, 7, § 23.—Hence, diffĕ-rens , entis, P. a., different, superior: “differentius nomen,” a more excellent name, Vulg. Heb. 1, 4; in Quintilian subst. n. (opp. proprium), a difference, Quint. 5, 10, 55; 58; 6, 3, 66; 7, 3, 3; 25 sq.—*Adv.: diffĕren-ter , differently, Sol. 1.