1. carpo — Lewis & Short
carpo, psi, ptum, 3cf.: rapio, a(rpa/zw, karpos; Engl. grab, grip, grasp.
I Lit., of plants, flowers, fruits, etc., to pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, gather (class.; in prose and poetry, esp. in the latter very freq.; syn. decerpere).
A In gen.:
(flos) tenui carptus ungui,Cat. 62, 43; Hor. C. 3, 27, 44; Ov. M. 9, 342:
ab arbore flores,id. ib. 9, 380; cf.
infra, II.: rosam, poma,Verg. G. 4, 134:
violas et papavera,id. E. 2, 47:
violas, lilia,Ov. M. 5, 392:
frondes uncis manibus,id. G. 2, 366:
plenis pomaria ramis,Ov. H. 4, 29:
vindemiam de palmite,Verg. G. 2, 90:
fructus,id. ib. 2, 501:
frumenta manu,id. ib. 3, 176.—
B Esp.
1 Of animals, to take something as nourishment (cf. Burm. ad Phaedr. 1, 28, 4); first, of nourishment from plants, to crop, pluck off, browse, graze on, etc. (syn. depascere); also of flesh, to eat, devour (rare):
alia (animalia) sugunt, alia carpunt, alia vorant, alia mandunt,Cic. N. D. 2, 47, 122:
carpunt gramen equi,Verg. A. 9, 353; id. G. 2, 201; Ov. M. 1, 299:
herbam,Verg. G. 3, 296; 3, 465; Ov. M. 13, 927:
pabula,id. ib. 4, 217; id. F. 4, 750:
alimenta,id. M. 15, 478:
apes carpunt ex oleā arbore ceram, e fico mel, etc.,gather, Varr. R. R. 3, 16, 24 sq.; cf.:
apis carpens thyma,Hor. C. 4, 2, 29.—Poet.:
Invidia (personif. envy) summa cacumina carpit,Ov. M. 2, 792:
nec carpsere jecur volucres,id. ib. 10, 43; cf. Phaedr. 1, 28, 4.—Sometimes transf., of men:
prandium,Ter. Ad. 4, 2, 52:
carpe cibos digitis,Ov. A. A. 3, 755: pisces, pulles, Mart. 3, 13, 1.—Also, to carve; hence the pun in Petr. 36 fin.—
2 Poet., of other things, to tear off, tear away:
summas carpens media inter cornua saetas,Verg. A. 6, 245.—Of wool, to pluck; hence, poet., to spin:
vellera,Verg. G. 4, 335:
pensa,id. ib. 1, 390; Prop. 3 (4), 6, 16; Hor. C. 3, 27, 64:
lana carpta,carded, Cels. 6, 6, 1 (hence, facete: stolidum pecus, to pluck, i. e. to fleece rich lovers, Prop. 2 (3), 16, 8; Ov. A. A. 1, 420):
ex collo furtim coronas,to pull off, Hor. S. 2, 3, 256:
crinem genasque,to tear, rend, lacerate, Val. Fl. 8, 7;
so acc. to Servius's inaccurate account, in a fragment of the Twelve Tables: mulier faciem ne carpito,Serv. ad Verg. A. 12, 606 (instead of the real words: MVLIERES. GENAS. NE. RADVNTO.; cf.
Dirks. Fragm. XII. Tab. p. 668): artus in parva frusta,Sen. Thyest. 1061.—
II Trop.
A (Acc. to I. A.) To pluck, snatch, etc.:
ut omni ex genere orationem aucuper, et omnes undique flosculos carpam atque delibem,Cic. Sest. 56, 119; id. de Or. 1, 42, 191:
atque in legendo carpsi exinde quaedam,Gell. 9, 4, 5: oscula, to pluck, as it were, from the lips, to snatch, Prop. 1, 20, 27; Ov. H. 11, 117 Loers. N. cr.; id. M. 4, 358; Phaedr. 3, 8, 12 al.:
basia,Mart. 5, 46, 1:
gaudia,Ov. A. A. 3, 661:
dulcia,Pers. 5, 151:
regni commoda carpe mei,Ov. F. 3, 622:
fugitivaque gaudia carpe,and snatch pleasures as they fly, Mart. 7, 47, 11:
delicias,Prop. 2 (3), 34, 74.—
B Esp.
1 (Acc. to I. B. 1.) In a good sense, to enjoy, use, make use of (mostly poet.;
syn.: fruor, capio): breve ver et primos carpere flores,Ov. M. 10, 85 (cf.:
flore aetatis frui,Liv. 21, 3, 4):
illa mihi sedes, illic mea carpitur aetas,spent, lived, passed, Cat. 68, 35:
diem,Hor. C. 1, 11, 8:
honores virtutis,Val. Fl. 1, 177:
auras vitales,Verg. A. 1, 388; cf. Sil. 3, 712:
sub dio somnos,Verg. G. 3, 435:
quietem,id. A. 7, 414:
soporem,id. ib. 4, 522:
noctes securas,Val. Fl. 5, 48; a poet. circumlocution for vivere, degere, etc.—
b In a bad sense.
(a) To gnaw at or tear character or reputation, to carp at, slander, calumniate, revile:
more hominum invident, in conviviis rodunt, in circulis vellicant: non illo inimico, sed hoc maledico dente carpunt,Cic. Balb. 26, 57:
nam is carpebatur a Bibulo, Curione, Favonio,id. ad Q. Fr. 2, 3, 2:
Paulum obtrectatio carpsit,Liv. 45, 35, 5:
imperatorem,id. 44, 38, 2:
quae non desierunt carpere maligni,Quint. 11, 1, 24:
maligno sermone,Suet. Aug. 27:
obliquis orationibus,id. Dom. 2:
nonnihil vocibus,Caes. B. G. 3, 17:
aliquem sermonibus,Liv. 7, 12, 12:
sinistris sermonibus,Plin. Ep. 1, 9, 5:
Ciceronem in his,Quint. 9, 4, 64:
te ficto quaestu,Cat. 62, 36 and 37:
et detorquere recte facta,Plin. Ep. 1, 8, 6:
famam vitamque,id. Pan. 53, 4; Suet. Calig. 34.—
(b) To rob of strength, to weaken, enfeeble, wear away, consume; or poet., with the idea extended (cf. absumo), to consume completely, to destroy:
vires,Verg. G. 3, 215; Liv. 9, 27, 6:
quid si carpere singula (jura) et extorquere... patiemini,id. 34, 3, 2;
esp. of in ward care, anxiety, longing, etc.: at regina, gravi jamdudum saucia curā, Volnus alit venis et caeco carpitur igni,Verg. A. 4, 2; Ov. M. 3, 490; 10, 370:
solane perpetua maerens carpere juventā?Verg. A. 4, 32:
curā carpitur ista mei,Ov. A. A. 3, 680:
aegra assiduo mens carpitur aestu,Val. Fl. 3, 305; Lucr. 9, 744; Sil. 15, 1:
invidia carpit et carpitur unā,Ov. M. 2, 781; cf. Prop. 3 (4), 5, 3.
non ego Tot tuos patiar labores carpere lividas Obliviones,to wear away, Hor. C. 4, 9, 33; cf.: otia corpus alunt, animus quoque pascitur illis;
Inmodicus contra carpit utrumque labor,Ov. P. 1, 4, 21 sq.:
aras etiam templaque demolitur et obscurat oblivio, neglegit carpitque posteritas,Plin. Pan. 55, 9:
totum potest excedere quod potest carpi,Sen. N. Q. 2, 13, 2.—So,
(g) In milit. lang., to inflict injury upon an enemy (esp. by single, repeated attacks), to weaken, harass:
agmen adversariorum,Caes. B. C. 1, 63:
hostes carpere multifariam vires Romanas,Liv. 3, 5, 1; 22, 32, 2; 27, 46, 6; cf. id. 3, 61, 13 infra; Weissenb. ad Liv. 22, 16, 2; Tac. A. 12, 32; Luc. 4, 156:
novissimum agmen,Caes. B. C. 1, 78 fin.:
novissimos,Liv. 8, 38, 6:
extrema agminis,id. 6, 32, 11. —
2 To separate a whole into single parts, to cut to pieces, divide (syn.: dividere, distribuere): neque semper utendum est perpetuitate, sed saepe carpenda membris minutioribus oratio est, Cic. de Or. 3, 49, 190:
in multas parvasque partes carpere exercitum,Liv. 26, 38, 2:
summam unius belli in multa proelia parvaque,id. 3, 61, 13:
Erymanthus... ab accolis rigantibus carpitur,is drawn off into canals, Curt. 8, 9, 410. —With a reference to the meaning
(a) supra:
si erunt plures qui ob innocentem condemnandum pecuniam acceperint, tu non animadvertes in omnis, sed carpes ut velis, et paucos ex multis ad ignominiam sortiere?distinguish, single out, Cic. Clu. 46, 129; cf.:
in multorum peccato carpi paucos ad ignominiam,id. ib.—
3 Viam, iter, etc., or with definite local substantives, terram, mare, litora, etc., to go, tread upon, pass over, navigate, sail along or through, to take or pursue one's way (syn. ire):
viam,Verg. A. 6, 629; Hor. S. 2, 6, 93; Ov. M. 8, 208; 11, 139:
iter,Hor. S. 1, 5, 95; Ov. H. 18, 34; id. M. 2, 549; 10, 709:
supremum iter = mori,Hor. C. 2, 17, 12:
gyrum,to go in a circle, Verg. G. 3, 191:
fugam,to fly, Sil. 10, 62; cf.:
prata fugā,Verg. G. 3, 142:
pede viam,Ov. A. A. 2, 230:
pede iter,id. F. 3, 604:
pedibus terras, pontum remis,Prop. 1, 6, 33:
pede campos,Ov. Tr. 1, 10, 23:
mare,id. M. 11, 752:
litora,id. ib. 12, 196;
15, 507: aëra alis,id. ib. 4, 616; cf. Verg. G. 4, 311:
aethera,Ov. M. 8, 219:
carpitur acclivis per muta silentia trames,id. ib. 10, 53.