previous next
infĕrus , a, um (ante-class. collat. form of the
I.nom. sing. infer: “ubi super inferque vicinus permittet,Cato, R. R. 149), adj. cf. Sanscr. adh-aras, adh-amas, the lower, lowest; and Lat. infra, that is below, underneath, lower; opp. superus.
I. Posit.
A. In gen.: inferus an superus tibi fert Deus funera, Liv. Andr. ap. Prisc. p. 606 P.; cf.: “Di Deaeque superi atque inferi,Plaut. Cist. 2, 1, 36; Ter. Phorm. 4, 4, 6; cf. “also: ut ex tam alto dignitatis gradu ad superos videantur deos potius quam ad inferos pervenisse,Cic. Lael. 3, 12: “limen superum inferumque salve,Plaut. Merc. 5, 1, 1: “ut omnia supera, infera, prima, ultima, media videremus,Cic. Tusc. 1, 26, 64: “loca,the lower parts, id. Arat. 474: “fulmina,that come out of the ground, Plin. 2, 52, 53, § 138: aqua, that falls down, rain-water, Varr. ap. Non. 1, 221: mare inferum, the Lower, i. e. the Tuscan Sea (opp. mare superum, the Upper or Adriatic Sea), Mel. 2, 4; Plin. 3, 5, 10, § 75; Cic. Att. 9, 3, 1; id. de Or. 3, 19 et saep. also without mare: “navigatio infero,upon the Tuscan Sea, id. Att. 9, 5, 1.—
B. In partic., underground, belonging to the Lower World: infĕri , ōrum, m. (gen. inferūm for inferorum, Varr. ap. Macr. S. 1, 16; Sen. de Ira, 2, 35), the inhabitants of the infernal regions, the dead: “triceps apud inferos Cerberus,Cic. Tusc. 1, 5, 10: “si ab inferis exsistat rex Hiero,were to rise from the dead, Liv. 26, 32: “si salvi esse velint, Sulla sit iis ab inferis excitandus,to be raised from the dead, Cic. Cat. 2, 9, 20: “inferorum animas elicere,id. Vatin. 6, 14: “ad inferos poenas parricidii luere,in the infernal regions, id. Phil. 14, 12, 32: “ab inferis excitare aliquem,” i. e. to quote the words of one deceased, id. Or. 25, 85; id. Brut. 93, 322.
II. Comp.: infĕrĭor , ius, lower in situation or place.
A. Lit.: “spatium,Caes. B. G. 7, 46, 3: “locus,id. ib. 2, 25: “pars,id. ib. 7, 35: ex inferiore loco dicere, from below (opp. ex superiore loco, from the tribunal), Cic. Att. 2, 24, 3; cf. “superus, II. A.: onerosa suo pondere in inferius feruntur,downwards, Ov. M. 15, 241: “scriptura,Cic. Inv. 2, 40, 117.—Plur. subst.: infĕrĭōres , um, m., the people of the lower part of the city, Auct. B. Alex. 6, 3. —
B. Trop.
1. Subsequent, later, latter, in time or succession: “erant inferiores quam illorum aetas, qui, etc.,lived later, were younger, Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 5, 2; cf.: “aetate inferiores paulo quam Iulius, etc.,id. Brut. 49, 182; and: “inferioris aetatis esse,id. ib. 64, 228: “inferiores quinque dies,the latter, Varr. L. L. 6, § 13 Müll. —
2. Inferior in quality, rank, or number.
(β). With in and abl.: “in jure civili non inferior, quam magister fuit,Cic. Brut. 48, 179.—
III. Sup. in two forms: infĭmus (or infŭmus ) and īmus .
A. Form infimus (infumus), a, um, lowest, last (= imus; “but where the lowest of several objects is referred to, infimus is used,Cic. N. D. 1, 37, 103; 2, 6, 17; v. Krebs, Antibarb. p. 588).
1. Lit.: “stabiliendi causa singuli ab infimo solo pedes terra exculcabantur,Caes. B. G. 7, 73, 7: “ab infimis radicibus montis,id. B. C. 1, 41, 3; 1, 42, 2: “cum scripsissem haec infima,Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 6: “ab infima ara,from the lowest part of the altar, id. Div. 1, 33; cf.: “sub infimo colle,the foot, Caes. B. G. 7, 79. — Subst.: infĭmum , i, n., the lowest part, bottom, in the phrase: “ab infimo,from below, at the bottom, Plaut. Most. 3, 2, 140: “collis erat leniter ab infimo acclivis,Caes. B. G. 7, 19, 1 (for which, ab imo; “v. below, B. 1.): stipites demissi et ab infimo revincti,id. ib. 7, 73, 3; cf. Sen. Q. N. 3, 30, 4; 6, 4, 1; so, “ad infimum,at the bottom, Caes. B. G. 7, 73, 3: “collis passus circiter CC. infimus apertus,at the bottom, id. ib. 2, 18, 2.—
2. Trop., lowest, meanest, basest in quality or rank: “infima faex populi,Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 6; cf.: “condicio servorum,id. Off. 1, 13: “infimo loco natus,id. Fl. 11: “summos cum infimis pari jure retinebat,id. Off. 2, 12: “humilitas natalium,Plin. 18, 6, 7, § 37: “preces,the most humble, Liv. 8, 2; 29, 30. — Hence, infĭmē , adv., only trop., at the bottom (late Lat.): “quid summe est, quid infime,Aug. Ep. 18, 2. —
B. Form imus , a, um, the lowest, deepest, last ( = infimus; but when opp. to summus, to express a whole from end to end, imus is used; v. Suet. Aug. 79; Quint. 2, 13, 9; Liv. 24, 34, 9; Cic. Rosc. Com. 7, 20; Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 54; cf. Krebs, Antibarb. p. 588).
1. Lit.: “ab imis unguibus usque ad verticem summum,Cic. Rosc. Com. 7, 20: “terra ima sede semper haeret,id. Rep. 6, 18: “fundo in imo,at the very bottom, Verg. A. 6, 581: vox, the deepest bass (opp. vox summa, the treble), Hor. S. 1, 3, 7; Quint. 11, 3, 15: “conviva,that reclines at the bottom, Hor. S. 2, 8, 40; Mart. 6, 74: “ad imam quercum,at the foot of the oak, Phaedr. 2, 4, 3: “in aure ima,at the bottom of the ear, Plin. 11, 45, 103, § 205. — As substt.
B. īmum , i, n., the bottom, depth, low est part. Lit.: “ab imo ad summum,Hor. S. 2, 3, 308: “locus erat paulatim ab imo acclivis,Caes. B. G. 3, 19, 1 (for which, ab infimo; v. above, A. 1.); so, “tigna paulum ab imo praeacuta,id. ib. 4, 17: “suspirare ab imo,to fetch a deep sigh, Ov. A. A. 3, 675: “(aures) instabiles imo facit,at the bottom. at their roots, id. M. 11, 177: “aquae perspicuae imo,down to the bottom, id. ib. 5, 588. — Plur.: “ima summis mutare,to turn the lowest into the highest, Hor. C. 1, 34, 12; Vell. 2, 2: “ima,the under world, Ov. M. 10, 47.—With gen.: “ima maris,the bottom of the sea, Plin. 32, 6, 21, § 64: “ima montis,the foot of a mountain, id. 4, 11, 18, § 40.—
2. Trop., with respect to time or order, the last (mostly poet.): “mensis,Ov. F. 2, 52.—Hence, subst.: īmum , i, n., the last, the end: “nihil nostrā intersit an ab summo an ab imo nomina dicere incipiamus,Auct. Her. 3, 18, 30: “si quid inexpertum scaenae committis ... servetur ad imum,till the last, to the end, Hor. A. P. 126: “dormiet in lucem ... ad imum Threx erit,at last, id. Ep. 1, 18, 35.
hide Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
Search for in
hide References (68 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (68):
    • Cicero, Letters to his Friends, 13.5.2
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 2.24.3
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 9.3.1
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 9.5.1
    • Cicero, Letters to his brother Quintus, 1.3.6
    • Cicero, Letters to his brother Quintus, 2.6
    • Cicero, Letters to his brother Quintus, 3.1.6
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 3.19.1
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 3.24
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 7.19.1
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 7.46.3
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 7.73.3
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 7.73.7
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 7.79
    • Cicero, Against Catiline, 2.9.20
    • Cicero, Philippics, 14.12.32
    • Cicero, For Quintus Roscius the Actor, 7.20
    • Cicero, Against Vatinius, 6.14
    • Cicero, For Marcus Fonteius, 11
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 10.47
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 11.177
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 15.241
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 5.588
    • Plautus, Cistellaria, 2.1
    • Plautus, Mostellaria, 3.2
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 6.170
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 6.581
    • Suetonius, Divus Augustus, 79
    • Horace, Satires, 1.3.7
    • Horace, Satires, 2.3.308
    • Horace, Satires, 2.8.40
    • Horace, Ars Poetica, 126
    • Caesar, Civil War, 1.41.3
    • Caesar, Civil War, 1.46
    • Caesar, Civil War, 1.57
    • Plautus, Mercator, 5.1
    • Cicero, On Oratory, 2.52
    • Cicero, On Oratory, 3.19
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 18.37
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 4.40
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 24, 34
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 8, 2
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 26, 32
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 29, 30
    • Seneca, de Clementia, 1.1.9
    • Cicero, De Republica, 2.34
    • Cicero, De Republica, 6.18
    • Cicero, de Natura Deorum, 1.37
    • Cicero, De Amicitia, 2
    • Cicero, De Amicitia, 20
    • Cicero, De Amicitia, 3
    • Cicero, De Divinatione, 1.33
    • Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, 1.26
    • Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, 1.5
    • Cicero, De Officiis, 1.13
    • Cicero, De Officiis, 2.12
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 2, 13.9
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 11, 3.15
    • Martial, Epigrammata, 6.74
    • Cicero, Brutus, 48.179
    • Cicero, Brutus, 49.182
    • Cicero, Brutus, 8
    • Cicero, Brutus, 93.322
    • Cicero, Orator, 25.85
    • Ovid, Fasti, 2
    • Ovid, Fasti, 5
    • Augustine, Epistualae, 18.2
    • Cicero, De Inventione, 2.40
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: