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saevus , a, um (collat. form saevis , e; in
I.gen. plur. saevium, Amm. 15, 9; 29, 5), adj. etym. dub.; perh. akin with scaevus, q. v., roused to fierceness (while ferus signifies naturally fierce); raging, furious, fell, savage, ferocious, etc. (mostly poet.)
I. Lit., of animals: “leones,Lucr. 3, 306; 4, 1016; cf.: “saecla leonum,id. 5, 862: “leaena,Tib. 3, 4, 90: “lea,Ov. M. 4, 102: “saevior leaena,Verg. G. 3, 246: “apri,Lucr. 5, 1327: “sues,id. 5, 1309: “lupi,Tib. 1, 5, 54: “canes,Prop. 4 (5), 4, 40. Ov. M. 7, 64: “ferae,Tib. 1, 10, 6; Ov. M. 4, 404; 7, 387: “belua,Hor. C. 1, 12, 22.—
II. Transf., of any vehement, passionate excitement, fierce, cruel, violent, harsh, severe, fell, dire, barbarous, etc. (syn.: crudelis, inmitis, trux, durus).
A. Of persons: “nunc truculento mihi atque saevo usus sene est,Plaut. Bacch. 4, 5, 3; so (with truculentus) id. Truc. 3, 2, 5; cf.: “agrestis, saevus, tristis, parcus, truculentus, etc.,Ter. Ad. 5, 4, 12: “gens, Cic. poët. Tusc. 2, 8, 20: ex amore saevus,Plaut. Am. 1, 3, 43: “uxor,cross, Ter. Phorm. 5, 1, 17: “vir,Hor. C. 3, 10, 2: “custos,id. Ep. 1, 16, 77: “magister,id. ib. 1, 18, 13: “novercae,Verg. G. 2, 128: “Canidia,Hor. Epod. 5, 47: “Tisiphone,id. S. 1, 8, 33: “mater Cupidinum,id. C. 1, 19, 1; 4, 1, 5: “Juno,Verg. A. 1, 4; cf.: “conjux Jovis,Ov. M. 9, 199: “Proserpina,Hor. C. 1, 28, 20: “Necessitas,id. ib. 1, 35, 17: “tyrannus,Ov. M. 6, 581; cf.: “cum tyranno saevissimo et violentissimo in suos,Liv. 34, 32: “saevus metu,Suet. Dom. 3: “aliquanto post civilis belli victoriam saevior,id. ib. 10: “post cujus interitum vel saevissimus exstitit,id. Tib. 61: “saevorum saevissime Centaurorum, Euryte,Ov. M. 12, 219 et saep.: saevus in armis Aeneas acuit Martem, terrible, δεινός, Verg. A. 12, 107: “Hector,id. ib. 1, 99; Ov. M. 13, 177: “Achilles,id. ib. 12, 582: “sed manibus qui saevus erit,Tib. 1, 10, 67: “nimium in pellice saevae deae,Ov. M. 4, 547: “videt Atridas Priamumque et saevum ambobus Achillem,Verg. A. 1, 458: “saevus accusandis reis,Tac. A. 11, 5: “duces,Hor. C. 3, 16, 16.—Poet., with inf. (cf. saevio, II. A.): “quaelibet in quemvis opprobria fingere saevus,Hor. Ep. 1, 15, 30; cf. in comp.: “saevior ante alios iras servasse,Sil. 11, 7.—
B. Of things: mare, Naev. ap. Fest. s. v. topper, p. 352 Müll.; Sall. J. 17, 5: “pelagus,Ov. M. 14, 559: “fluctus,Plaut. Mil. 2, 5, 4: “procellae,Lucr. 3, 805: “undae,id. 5, 222: saevi exsistunt turbines, Poët. ap. Cic. de Or. 3, 39, 157: “ventus,Cic. Att. 5, 12; Liv. 28, 18; Ov. M. 12, 8: tempestates, Lucil. ap. Non. 388, 17; Lucr. 6, 458; Liv. 24, 8; cf. “hiems,id. 40, 45; Val. Fl. 7, 52: “Orion,Verg. A. 7, 719: “scopulus,id. ib. 5, 270: “ignes,Prop. 1, 1, 27; Ov. M. 2, 313; Hor. C. 1, 16, 11: “bipennis,Ov. M. 8, 766: “falx Priapi,Tib. 1, 1, 18: “catenae,Hor. C. 3, 11, 45: tympana, sounding harshly or terribly, id. ib. 1, 18, 13 et saep.: saevo ac duro in bello, Lucil. ap. Non. 388, 15; so, “bellum,Lucr. 1, 475: saeva et tristia dicta, Lucil. ap. Non. 388, 23: unde superstitiosa primum saeva evasit vox fera, Poët. ap. Cic. Div. 2, 56, 115: “minae,Prop. 1, 17, 6 sq.: “verba,Hor. Epod. 12, 13: “jocus,id. Ep. 2, 1, 148; id. C. 1, 33, 12: “naves,id. ib. 1, 37, 30: “militia,id. Ep. 1, 18, 54: “cum ex saevis et perditis rebus ad meliorem statum fortuna revocatur,Cic. Rep. Fragm. 6, p. 419 Osann (5, p. 247 B. and K.; ap. Amm. 15, 5, 23): Medea amore saevo saucia, Enn. ap. Auct. Her. 2, 22, 34; and ap. Cic. Cael. 8, 18 (Trag. v. 288 Vahl.); so, “Amor,Verg. E. 8, 47: “horror,id. A. 12, 406: “verbera,id. G. 3, 252: “ira,Prop. 1, 18, 14: “damna,Tac. A. 2, 26: “adulationes,id. ib. 4, 20: “caedes,Ov. M. 1, 161: “dolores,Verg. A. 1, 25: “ira,Ov. M. 1, 453: “paupertas,Hor. C. 1, 12, 43: “quae sibi belligeranti saeva vel prospera evenissent,Tac. A. 2, 5: “ut saeva et detestanda Quirinio clamitarent,id. ib. 3, 23: “multa saevaque questus,id. ib. 1, 6.— Adv., in three forms, saeve, saeviter (anteclass.), and saevum (in post-Aug. poets), fiercely, furiously, ferociously, cruelly, barbarously, etc.
(β). saevĭter : ferro cernunt de victoriā, Enn. ap Non. 511, 8; Att. and Afran. ib. 4, 7; Plaut. Ps. 5, 2, 3; id. Poen. 1, 2, 122; id. Trin. 4, 3, 53.—
(γ). saevum : “cui arridens,Sil. 1, 398; Stat. Th. 3, 589; Claud. Rapt. Pros. 1, 285.—
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  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (63):
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 5.12
    • Cicero, For Marcus Caelius, 8.18
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 12.582
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    • Plautus, Poenulus, 1.2
    • Plautus, Pseudolus, 5.2
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 1.4
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    • Vergil, Aeneid, 1.25
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    • Suetonius, Domitianus, 3
    • Suetonius, Tiberius, 59
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 14.559
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 7.64
    • Tacitus, Annales, 2.5
    • Tacitus, Annales, 11.5
    • Tacitus, Annales, 2.26
    • Plautus, Bacchides, 4.5
    • Plautus, Miles Gloriosus, 2.5
    • Plautus, Trinummus, 4.3
    • Plautus, Truculentus, 3.2
    • Cicero, On Oratory, 3.39
    • Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, 1.475
    • Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, 3.306
    • Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, 5.862
    • Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, 6.458
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    • Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, 5.1309
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    • Suetonius, Divus Claudius, 2
    • Suetonius, Tiberius, 61
    • Lucan, Civil War, 7.171
    • Lucan, Civil War, 8.492
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 30.15
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 40, 45
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 34, 32
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 24, 8
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 28, 18
    • Cicero, De Republica, fr.6
    • Cicero, De Divinatione, 2.56
    • C. Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica, 7.52
    • Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum, 17
    • Statius, Thebias, 3
    • Columella, Res Rustica, 1.4.9
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