I.gen. sing. vitaï, Lucr. 1, 415; 2, 79; 3, 396), f. vivo; Sanscr. gīv, to live; Gr. βίος, life, life.
I. Lit.
A. In gen.: “tribus rebus animantium vita tenetur, cibo, potione, spiritu,” Cic. N. D. 2, 54, 134: “dare, adimere vitam alicui,” id. Phil. 2, 3, 5: “necessaria praesidia vitae,” id. Off. 1, 17, 58: “in liberos vitae necisque potestatem habere,” Caes. B. G. 6, 19: “exiguum vitae curriculum,” Cic. Rab. Perd. 10, 30: “ego in vitā meā nullā umquam voluptate tantā sum adfectus, etc.,” id. Att. 5, 20, 6: “vitam agere honestissime,” id. Phil. 9, 7, 15; cf.: “degere miserrimam,” id. Sull. 27, 75: “vitam in egestate degere,” id. Rosc. Am. 49, 144: “tutiorem vivere,” Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 47, § 118: “profundere pro aliquo,” id. Phil. 14, 11, 30 fin.: “amittere per summum dedecus,” id. Rosc. Am. 11, 30: “auferre alicui,” id. Sen. 19, 71: “in vitā manere,” id. Fam. 5, 15, 3: “in vitā diutius esse,” id. Q. Fr. 1, 3, 5: “e vitā discedere,” id. Fam. 2, 2; cf. “cedere,” id. Brut. 1, 4: “vitā cedere,” id. Tusc. 1, 15, 35: “de vitā decedere,” id. Rab. Perd. 11: “vitā se privare,” id. de Or. 3, 3, 9: “vitā aliquem expellere,” id. Mur. 16, 34: “si vita suppetet,” id. Fin. 1, 4, 11: si mihi vita contigerit, Planc. ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 24, 1: “ne ego hodie tibi bonam vitam feci,” a pleasant life, Plaut. Pers. 4, 8, 3: “bonam vitam dare,” id. Cas. 4, 4, 21; cf.“, on the other hand: malae taedia vitae,” Ov. P. 1, 9, 31.—
B. In partic., life, as a period of time = aetas (post-Aug.): “ii quadragensimum annum vitae non excedunt,” Plin. 6, 30, 35, § 195; 7, 2, 2, § 30; 7, 49, 50, § 160: “periit anno vitae septimo et quinquagesimo,” Suet. Vit. 18: “septem et triginta annos vitae explevit,” Tac. A. 2, 88 fin.; Val. Max. 4, 1, 6; 8, 13, ext. 7; Gell. 15, 7, 1; Hier. in Dan. 6, 1.—Plur.: “nec vero, si geometrae et grammatici ... omnem suam vitam in singulis artibus consumpserint, sequitur, ut plures quasdam vitas ad plura discenda desideremus,” Quint. 12, 11, 20; cf. also in the foll.—
II. Transf.
A. A living, support, subsistence (Plautinian; “syn. victus): vitam sibi repperire,” Plaut. Stich. 3, 2, 9; cf.: “neque illi concedam quicquam de vitā meā,” id. Trin. 2, 4, 76.—
B. A life, i. e. a way or mode of life (class.): vita hominis ex ante factis spectabitur, Auct. Her. 2, 3, 4: “vita rustica honestissima atque suavissima,” Cic. Rosc. Am. 17, 48: “hanc usus, vita, mores respuit,” id. Mur. 35, 74; cf.: “inquirendo in utriusque vitam et mores,” Liv. 40, 16, 2; so (with mores) Ov. H. 17, 172 Ruhnk.: “neque ante philosophiam patefactam hac de re communis vita dubitavit,” nor was it doubted in common life, Cic. Div. 1, 39, 86: “vita, victusque communis,” social life, id. Off. 1, 17, 58; cf.: “omni vitā atque victu excultus,” id. Brut. 25, 95.—Plur.: “inspicere, tamquam in speculum, in vitas omnium,” Ter. Ad. 3, 3, 61; cf.: “per omnium vitas amicitia serpit,” Cic. Leal. 23, 87: “(Minos) vitas et crimina discit,” Verg. A. 6, 433. —
C. Life, real life (opp. fancy or fiction): “ex quo est illud e vitā ductum ab Afranio,” Cic. Tusc. 4, 20, 45: “de vitā hominum mediā sumptum,” Gell. 2, 23, 12: “nil sine magno Vita labore dedit mortalibus,” Hor. S. 1, 9, 60.—
D. Like our life, to denote a very dear object: “certe tu vita es mihi,” Plaut. As. 3, 3, 24; cf. Ter. Ad. 3, 2, 33.—Hence, mea vita, or simply vita, my life, as a term of endearment, Plaut. Stich. 4, 2, 6; Cic. Fam. 14, 2, 3; 14, 4, 1; Prop. 1, 2, 1; 2, 20 (3, 13), 17.—
E. The living, i. e. mankind, the world; like Gr. βίος (poet. and in postAug. prose): “rura cano, rurisque deos, his vita magistris Desuevit quernā pellere glande famem,” Tib. 2, 1, 37: “agnoscat mores vita legatque suos,” Mart. 8, 3, 20: “verum falsumne sit, vita non decrevit,” Plin. 8, 16, 19, § 48: “alias in tumultu vita erat,” id. 13, 13, 27, § 89.—
F. A life, i. e. a course of life, career, as the subject of biography: in hoc exponemus libro de vitā (al. vitam) excellentium imperatorum, Nep. praef. § 8; id. Epam. 4 fin.: “vitae memoriam prosā oratione composuit,” Suet. Claud. 1 fin.: “propositā vitae ejus velut summā,” id. Aug. 9: “referam nunc interiorem ac familiarem ejus vitam,” id. ib. 61; cf. Serv. Verg. A. 1, 368: “qui vitas resque gestas clarorum hominum memoriae mandaverunt,” Gell. 1, 3, 1.—
G. The duration of life (in plants, etc.), duration: “arborum immensa,” Plin. 16, 44, 85, § 234; 16, 44, 90, § 241; Pall. 12, 7, 17.—
H. An existence, a being, of spirits in the infernal regions: “tenues sine corpore vitae,” Verg. A. 6, 292; cf. id. ib. 12, 952.
