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prae-fĭcĭo , fēci, fectum, 3, v. a. facio,
I.to set over any thing (as officer, superintendent, leader, etc.), to place in authority over, place at the head, appoint to the command of.
II. Trop., to set over, etc. (rare): nec locus nec materia invenitur, cui divinationem praeficere possimus, Cic. Div. 2, 4, 12. —Hence, as subst.: praefectus , i, m., an overseer, director, president, chief, commander, prefect.
B. In partic., as a title of particular civil or military officers, a president, superintendent, commander, governor, etc.: “praefectus aerarii or aerario,a treasurer, Plin. Ep. 3, 4, 2; id. Pan. 92; Gell. 13, 24, 30; Capitol. Gord. 4: annonae, a superintendent of grain or of the markets, Tac. A. 11, 31; Inscr. Orell. 1084; 1186; 1091; “3169: castrorum or castris,an officer who attended to the pitching of the camp and all matters connected therewith, a quartermaster, Vell. 2, 112, 6; 119, 4; 120, 4; Tac. A. 14, 37; 1, 20; cf. Veg. Mil. 2, 10: “classis,an admiral, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 34, § 89; Liv. 26, 48; 36, 20; 42; Flor. 3, 7; afterwards also for a captain of a ship, Tac. H. 3, 12; Veg. Mil. 4, 32; Inscr. Orell. 3596; “who was formerly called praefectus navis: dextrum cornu praefectos navium ad terram explicare jubet,Liv. 36, 44; Flor. 2, 5: fabrūm, in the army, a superintendent of the military engines, chief engineer, Caes. ap. Cic. Att. 9, 7, C, 2; id. B. C. 1, 24, 4; Nep. Att. 12, 4; Vell. 2, 76, 1; Plin. 36, 6, 7, § 48; Inscr. Orell. 4906; “in the free towns and colonies,a superintendent of public works, ib. 516: equitum, a commander of the cavalry, as we say, a colonel or general of cavalry, Hirt. B. G. 8, 12; Vell. 2, 24, 1; “called also simply praefectus,Caes. B. G. 1, 39; 3, 7; Cic. Fam. 3, 8, 7; cf. “cohortium,Sall. J. 46, 7: legionis, in the time of the emperors, the same that was previously called legatus legionis, a commander of the legion, i. q. our colonel, Tac. H. 1, 82; Suet. Claud. 12; id. Galb. 11; 14; id. Calig. 56; id. Ner. 21; Inscr. Grut. 465, 2; cf. Veg. Mil. 2, 9: “praefectus regis or regius,a commander-in-chief, generalissimo, Liv. 36, 11; Sall. J. 46, 5; Nep. Alcib. 5, 2; id. Ages. 2, 3; cf. Flor. 3, 5; 11: “praefectus praetorio and praetorii, in the time of the emperors,a commander of the imperial body - guard, pretorian prefect, Tac. A. 1, 24; id. H. 1, 13; 19; Dig. 1, 11 et saep.; in later times, a governor of a province of the Roman empire: praefectus urbi or urbis, governor of the city of Rome, in the times of the republic, appointed only to represent the consul during the latter's absence; under the emperors, a perpetual office with a particular jurisdiction, Varr. ap. Gell. 14, 7; Tac. A. 6, 10; 11; Plin. 11, 38, 90, § 223; Suet. Aug. 33; Inscr. Orell. 3153 sq.: “vigilum or vigilibus,a captain of the watch, Dig. 1, 15, 3; 47, 2, 58; Inscr. Orell. 801; 1088; 1929: “Aegypti,the governor of the province of Egypt, Suet. Aug. 18; 66; id. Vesp. 6; Dig. 1, 17; Inscr. Orell. 709; 3651; so, “Lydiae, Ioniae, totiusque Phrygiae,Nep. Dat. 2, 5: “Alpium,Plin. 10, 48, 68, § 134; Inscr. Grut. 287, 7.
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hide References (54 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (54):
    • Cicero, Letters to his Friends, 3.8.7
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 9.7
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 1.39
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 5.24
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 8.12
    • Cicero, For Aulus Cluentius, 46.129
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.5.89
    • Cicero, In the Senate after his Return, 6.15
    • Cicero, For Plancius, 25.62
    • Cicero, On Pompey's Command, 16.49
    • Cicero, For Sestius, 18.41
    • Plautus, Aulularia, 3.5
    • Plautus, Pseudolus, 1.2
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 6.118
    • Suetonius, Divus Augustus, 18
    • Suetonius, Divus Augustus, 33
    • Suetonius, Nero, 21
    • Tacitus, Annales, 11.31
    • Tacitus, Annales, 14.37
    • Tacitus, Annales, 1.24
    • Tacitus, Annales, 6.10
    • Tacitus, Annales, 6.8
    • Tacitus, Historiae, 1.13
    • Tacitus, Historiae, 1.82
    • Tacitus, Historiae, 3.12
    • Plautus, Bacchides, 3.3
    • Plautus, Casina, 1.1
    • Suetonius, Caligula, 56
    • Suetonius, Divus Claudius, 12
    • Suetonius, Galba, 11
    • Suetonius, Divus Vespasianus, 6
    • Cornelius Nepos, Agesilaus, 2.3
    • Cornelius Nepos, Alcibiades, 5.2
    • Cornelius Nepos, Atticus, 12.4
    • Cornelius Nepos, Datames, 2.5
    • Cornelius Nepos, Eumenes, 11.1
    • Cornelius Nepos, Hamilcar, 3.2
    • Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades, 4.1
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 36.48
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 9.27
    • Pliny the Younger, Epistulae, 3.4.2
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 36, 11
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 42
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 26, 48
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 35, 42
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 36, 20
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 36, 44
    • Cicero, De Legibus, 2.26
    • Cicero, De Republica, 2.14
    • Cicero, De Republica, 4.6
    • Cicero, De Divinatione, 2.4
    • Gellius, Noctes Atticae, 14.7
    • Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum, 46
    • Florus, Epitome Rerum Romanorum, 2.5
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