I.harsh to the taste, of every object which has an astringent effect upon the tongue (opp. suavis, Lucr. 4, 661 sq.).
I. Prop.: “Neptuni corpus acerbum,” bitter, briny, Lucr. 2, 472; and esp. of unripe fruit, sharp, sour, harsh, and the like: “uva primo est peracerba gustatu, deinde maturata dulcescit,” Cic. de Sen. 15: “saporum genera tredecim reperiuntur: acer, acutus, acerbus, acidus, salsus, etc.,” Plin. 15, 27, 32; and since the harshness of fruit is always a sign of immaturity, so Varro, Cicero, Pliny, et al. use acerbus as a syn. for crudus, immaturus, unripe, crude, lit. and trop.: nondum matura uva est, nolo acerbam sumere, Phaed. 4, 2, 4; so Ov. Am. 2, 14, 24; “and trop.: impolitae res et acerbae si erunt relictae,” Cic. Prov. Cons. 14; cf. Gell. 13, 2.—Hence: virgo acerba, not yet marriageable, Varr. ap. Non. 247, 15; and esp. poet. (opp. to virgo matura, v. maturus): funus acerbum, as a translation of the Gr. θάϝατος ἄωρος (Eur. Orest. 1030), Auct. Or. pro Dom. 16: “ante diem edere partus acerbos,” premature, Ov. F. 4, 647. —
B. Transf.
(α).
to sounds, harsh, hoarse, rough, shrill: “serrae stridentis acerbum horrorem, Lucr, 2, 410: vox acerbissima,” Auct. Her. 4, 47;
II. Fig.
A. Of men: Rough, coarse, repulsive, morose, violent, hard, rigorous, severe: “melius de quibusdam acerbos inimicos mereri quam eos amicos, qui dulces videantur,” Cic. Lael. 24: “posse enim asotos ex Aristippi, acerbos e Zenonis schola exire,” for there may go forth sensualists from the school of Aristippus, crabbed fellows from that of Zeno, id. N. D. 3, 31 (cf. acriculus): “acerbissimi feneratores,” id. Att. 6, 1; “so of adversaries or enemies,” violent, furious, bitter, Cic. Fam. 1, 4: “acerbissimus hostis,” id. Cat. 4, 6 fin.; so id. Fam. 3, 8: “acerbus odisti,” Hor. S. 1, 3, 85 K. & “H.: quid messes uris acerba tuas?” Tib. 1, 2, 98 al. —
B. Of things, harsh, heavy, disagreeable, grievous, troublesome, bitter, sad (very often, esp. in Cic.): “ut acerbum est, pro benefactis cum mali messem metas!” Plaut. Ep. 5, 2, 52; cf. Ter. Hec. 3, 1, 1; Att. ap. Non. 72, 29: “in rebus acerbis,” Lucr. 3, 54: “acerbissimum supplicium,” Cic. Cat. 4, 6: “acerbissima vexatio,” id. ib. 4, 1: “acerba memoria temporis,” id. Planc. 41: acerbissimā morte affectus, Serv. ap. Cic. Fam. 4, 12, 2 al.—Hence acerbum funus (diff. from above), a bitter, painful death, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 35: “acerbum funus filiae,” id. As. 3, 3, 5, and so Nep. Cim. 4: vita ejus fuit secura et mors acerba, afflicting, painful, unwelcome.—In the neutr. subst.: ăcer-bum , i, calamity, misfortune, Ov. Tr. 5, 2, 21; Verg. A. 12, 500—acerba, n. plur. adv. acc. to the Gr. idiom, Lucr. 5, 34 (cf. acuta et al.), several times imitated by Verg. A. 12, 398; 9, 794; id. G. 3, 149.—Adv.: ăcerbe , harshly, sharply, severely, etc., in the trop. signif. of the adj., Cic. Fam. 1, 5; id. N. D. 2, 33; id. Planc. 1: “idem acerbe severus in filium,” id. Off. 3, 31, 112; Liv. 3, 50. 12; 7, 3, 9; Tac. A. 2, 87 al.—Comp., Cic. Lael. 16; Suet. Tib. 25.—Sup., Cic. Att. 11, 1; Caes. B. C. 1, 2; also Cic. Planc. 35, 86, where, of an exclamation of severe grief, acerbissime for acerrime is defended against Lambinus and Ernesti by Wunder, Planc. l. c. p. 217; so B. & K.
