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monstrum , i, n. moneo.
I. Orig. belonging to relig. lang., a divine omen indicating misfortune, an evil omen, portent (syn.: “ostentum, prodigium, portentum): quia ostendunt, portendunt, monstrant, praedicunt, ostenta, portenta, monstra, prodigia dicuntur,Cic. Div. 1, 42, 93; cf.: monstrum dictum velut monestrum, quod moneat aliquid futurum; prodigium velut praedicium, quod praedicat; portentum quod portendat; ostentum, quod ostendat, Paul. ex Fest. p. 140 and 138 Müll.; cf. id. ib. p. 157: hic est nullum (dubium) quin monstrum siet, Enn. ap. Non. 469, 6 (Trag. v. 326 Vahl.): “monstra deūm,Verg. A. 3, 59; cf. Ov. M. 15, 571.—
II. Transf., a monster, monstrosity (whether a living being or an inanimate thing).
A. Ofliving beings: “monstrum hominis,you monster of a man, Ter. Eun. 4, 4, 29: “monstrum advenit,id. ib. 5, 2, 21: “horrendum, of Polyphemus,Verg. A. 3, 658.—Also with respect to character: “en monstrum mulieris,that monster of a woman, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 64: “nulla jam pernicies a monstro illo atque prodigio comparabitur,Cic. Cat. 2, 1, 1: “fatale, of Cleopatra,Hor. C. 1, 37, 21: “tune etiam, immanissimum ac foedissimum monstrum ausus es?Cic. Pis. 14, 31: “hominum,monsters of men, Gell. 17, 1, 1.—Of beasts: “succinctam latrantibus inguina monstris, i. e. canibus,Verg. E. 6, 75: “quae plurima terrae monstra ferunt,id. G. 1, 185.—
B. Of inanim. things, of the sea, Verg. A. 5, 849: “infelix, of the Trojan horse,id. ib. 2, 245.—Of the ship Argo, Cat. 64, 15: “non mihi jam furtum, sed monstrum ac prodigium videbatur,Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 73, § 171: monstra narrare, dicere, to relate wonders, prodigies, marvels: “mera monstra narrabat,Cic. Att. 4, 7, 1: “dicere,id. Tusc. 4, 24, 54: “ac portenta loqui,Lucr. 590: “totaque jam sparsis exarserat insula monstris,Val. Fl. 2, 248: “in vitā suā fecit monstra,he did wonderful things, Vulg. Eccl. 48, 15; Sap. 19, 8.
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hide References (14 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (14):
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 4.7.1
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.3.171
    • Cicero, Against Catiline, 2.1.1
    • Cicero, Against Piso, 14.31
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 15.571
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 3.658
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 5.849
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 3.59
    • Vergil, Georgics, 1.185
    • Plautus, Poenulus, 1.2
    • Cicero, De Divinatione, 1.42
    • Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, 4.24
    • C. Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica, 2.248
    • Gellius, Noctes Atticae, 17.1.1
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