previous next
dē-bello , āvi, ātum, 1, v. n. and
I.a. (not ante-Aug.; esp. freq. in Livy).
I. Neutr., to bring a war to an end, to finish a war. So rare in the act. form: “Aulius cum Ferentanis uno secundo proelio debellavit,” Liv. 9, 16; cf. id. Epit. 33; id. 44, 39 fin.; 35, 35. But exceedingly common as an impersonal: “debellari eo die cum Samnitibus potuisse,” Liv. 8, 36; cf. id. 4, 58: “ne absente se debellaretur,” id. 41, 18: “proelioque uno debellatum est,” id. 2, 26; 31, 48 fin. Drak.; cf. id. 7, 28: “debellatum est (erat, etc.),” id. 2, 31; 3, 70; 9, 4 al.: “debellatum foret,” id. 23, 13; Tac. Agr. 26; id. H. 3, 19; Flor. 3, 5, 11 al.: “debellatum iri,” Liv. 29, 14; and in the part. perf. absol. debellato, after the war is ended (freq. in Livy): “eum quasi debellato triumphare,” Liv. 26, 21; so id. 29, 32; 30, 8 al.—
II. Act. (poet. and postAug.). *
A. With a homogeneous object, to fight out: “rixa super mero debellata,” Hor. Od. 1, 18, 8.—
B. With heterog. object, to conquer completely, to vanquish, subdue: “parcere subjectis et debellare superbos,” Verg. A. 6, 853; “gentem,” id. ib. 5, 731: “hostem clamore,” Tac. Agr. 34: “Darium,” Plin. 6, 13, 16, § 41: “Gallias,” Suet. Ner. 43: “Illyricum,” id. Tib. 17: Indiam, * Ov. M. 4, 605; Vulg. Isa. 7, 1; 63, 10.—
2. Trop.: “olim fugissemus ex Asia, si nos fabulae debellare potuissent,” Curt. 9, 2, 15: “debellat eos (fungos) et aceti natura,” Plin. 22, 23, 47, § 99.
A Latin Dictionary. Founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary. revised, enlarged, and in great part rewritten by. Charlton T. Lewis, Ph.D. and. Charles Short, LL.D. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1879.

The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.

hide Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
Search for in
hide References (27 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (27):
    • Old Testament, Isaiah, 7.1
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 4.605
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 6.853
    • Tacitus, Historiae, 3.19
    • Tacitus, Agricola, 26
    • Tacitus, Agricola, 34
    • Suetonius, Nero, 43
    • Suetonius, Tiberius, 17
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 6.41
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 41, 18
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 3, 70
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 23, 13
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 30, 8
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 44, 39
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 2, 31
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 26, 21
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 29, 32
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 9, 4
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 35, 35
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 8, 36
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 9, 16
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 29, 14
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 2, 26
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 4, 58
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 7, 28
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 31, 48
    • Curtius, Historiarum Alexandri Magni, 9.2.15
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: