ANGIPORTUS
ANGIPORTUS or
ANGIPORTUM, a narrow lane between
two rows of houses, sometimes ending in a
cul de sac
(
id quidem angiportum non est pervium,
Ter. Ad. 4.2, 39), sometimes not (id.
Eun. 5.2, 6, 7). Thus a MS. glossary quoted
by Ellis on Catull. 58, 4, says:
Angiportus viae angustae inter
minores vicos quac exitun ad muros aut nullum aut angustum
habent. The ancients derived the word
ab angendo
et. portu, the original meaning of
portus being no doubt “an entrance” of any sort
(Varr.
L. L. 5.145, cf. 6.41 ; Fest. p. 17, ed.
Müller; Ulpian, in
Dig. 50, tit. 16, s.
59). The number of such places seems to have been considerable in ancient
Rome: and they were apt to be disreputable (Catull. 58, 4; Hor.
Od. 1.25,
10).
The form
angiportum is archaic (Ter. Catull.
Il. cc.; Plaut.
Pseud. 4.2, 6, 15; 4.7,
136; Auct.
ad Herenn. 4.51.64).
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