I.dry, withered, arid, parched.
I. Lit.: “ligna,” Lucr. 2, 881: “lignum,” Hor. C. 3, 17, 13; so Vulg. Eccli. 6, 3; ib. Isa. 56, 3: “cibus,” Lucr. 1, 809; so id. 1, 864: “ficis victitamus aridis,” Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 59: “folia,” Cic. Pis. 40, 97, and Plin. 12, 12, 26, § 46: “ficus,” Vulg. Marc. 11, 20: “Libye,” Ov. M. 2, 238: “quale portentum Jubae tellus leonum Arida nutrix,” Hor. C. 1, 22, 16: “terra arida et sicca,” Plin. 2, 65, 66, § 166; so, “terra arida,” Vulg. Sap. 19, 7: “arida terra,” ib. Heb. 11, 29; so absol.: “arida (eccl. Lat.),” ib. Gen. 1, 9; ib. Psa. 65, 6; ib. Matt. 23, 15: montes aridi sterilesque. Plin. 33, 4, 21, § 67.—Also, subst.: ārĭdum , i, n., a dry place, dry land: “ex arido tela conicere,” Caes. B. G. 4, 25: “naves in aridum subducere,” id. ib. 4, 29.—Meton., of thirst: “sitis,” Lucr. 3, 917, and 6, 1175; so, “os,” Verg. G. 3, 458: “ora,” id. A. 5, 200: guttur, Ov. [ad Liv. 422].—Of a fever: “febris,” i. e. causing thirst, Verg. G. 3, 458 (cf. Lucr. 4, 875); so, “morbus,” Veg. Vet. Art. 1, 4.—Of color: “arbor folio convoluto, arido colore,” like that of dried leaves, Plin. 12, 26, 59, § 129.—And of a cracking, snapping sound, as when dry wood is broken: “sonus,” Lucr. 6, 119: “aridus altis Montibus (incipit) audiri fragor,” a dry crackling noise begins to be heard in the high mountain forest, Verg. G. 1, 357.—
II. Trop.
A. Of things which are dried, shrunk up, shrivelled, meagre, lean: “crura,” Ov. A. A. 3, 272: “nates,” Hor. Epod. 8, 5: “uvis aridior puella passis,” Auct. Priap. 32, 1; so from disease, withered: “manus,” Vulg. Matt. 12, 10; ib. Marc. 3, 1; and absol. of persons: “aridi,” ib. Joan. 5, 3.— Hence, of food or manner of living, meagre, scanty: “in victu arido in hac horridā incultāque vitā,” poor, scanty diet, Cic. Rosc. Am. 27, 75: “vita horrida atque arida,” id. Quinct. 30.—Transf. to men, indigent, poor: “cliens,” Mart. 10, 87, 5.—
B. Of style, dry, jejune, unadorned, spiritless: “genus sermonis exile, aridum, concisum ac minutum,” Cic. de Or. 2, 38, 159; so Auct. ad Her. 4, 11: “narratio,” Quint. 2, 4, 3: “aridissimi libri,” Tac. Or. 19.—Meton., of the orator himself: “orator,” Quint. 12, 10, 13: “rhetores,” Sen. Contr. 34: “magister,” Quint. 2, 4, 8.— “Of scholars: sicci omnino atque aridi pueri,” sapless and dry, Suet. Gram. 4; cf. Quint. 2, 8, 9.—
C. In comic lang., avaricious, of a man from whom, as it were, nothing can be expressed (cf. Argentiexterebronides): “pumex non aeque est aridus atque hic est senex,” Plaut. Aul. 2, 4, 18: “pater avidus, miser atque aridus,” Ter. Heaut. 3, 2, 15.— *
D. In Plaut. as a mere natural epithet of metal: arido argentost opus, dry coin, Rud. 3, 4, 21.—Adv. not used.