coepĭo — Lewis & Short
coepĭo, coepi, coeptum, 3 (the
I tempp. press. only a few times in the ante-class. period, and coepturus, Liv. 30, 5, 6; 42, 47, 3; Quint. 10, 1, 46; Plin. 16, 25, 41, § 98; Suet. Calig. 46; the tempp. perff., both in act. and pass. form, very freq.;
a trisyl. coëpit,Lucr. 4, 619 Lachm. N. cr.), v. a. and n. contr. from co-ăpio = apo; hence coapias for coepias in Cod. Ambros.; Plaut. Trin. 4, 3, 46; v. in the foll., and cf. Lachm. ad Lucr. 2, p. 248, lit. to lay hold of something on different sides, to lay hold of; hence of an action, to begin, commence, undertake ( = incipio, which is the class. pres.).
I Act.
1 Tempp. press.: coepiam seditiosa verba loqui, Cato ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 59, 10 Müll. lubido extemplo coepere est convivium, Plaut. Pers. 1, 3, 41:
mage si exigere coepias,id. Trin. 4, 3, 46 Ritschl N. cr.:
neque pugnas neque ego lites coepio,id. Men. 5, 5, 57:
ubi nihil habeat, alium quaestum coepiat,id. Truc. 2, 1, 23: mane coepiam, Caecil. ap. Non. p. 89, 17: non Prius olfecissem, quam ille quicquam coeperet, Ter. Ad. 3, 3, 43 Fleck.; cf.
Neue, Formenl. 2, 616: se Hasdrubalem adgressurum, ceterum non ante coepturum, quam, etc.,Liv. 30, 5, 6:
nos rite coepturi ab Homero videmur,Quint. 10, 1, 46:
nemine opinante quidnam coepturus esset,Suet. Calig. 46.—
2 Tempp. perff. act.; the object usu. an inf.; so always in Cic. and Cæs.; mostly an inf. act.; rarely pass.; sometimes the acc. of a noun or pronoun.
(a) With inf. act.:
cum ver esse coeperat,Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 10, § 27; Ov. A. A. 1, 615 sq.:
discere coepit, Enn. Ann. ap. Fest. s. v. sam, p. 325, 24 Müll. (v. 228 Vahl.): amare coepi,Ter. Eun. 3, 5, 20:
oppugnare,Caes. B. G. 2, 6:
ire foras coeperunt,Lucr. 4, 531:
coeperit inter se vesci, etc.,id. 5, 72 et saep.—
(b) With inf. pass. (in the poets and histt.):
per terrarum orbem fruges coepisse creari,Lucr. 2, 614:
alia hujuscemodi fieri coepere,Sall. C. 51, 40:
cum Lacedaemoniis pugnari coepit,Nep. Epam. 10, 3; so,
urbanus haberi,Hor. Ep. 1, 15, 27:
verti,id. ib. 2, 1, 149:
institui,id. A. P. 21:
moveri,Ov. M. 3, 106; Suet. Tib. 75:
expleri,id. Caes. 26:
eligi,Tac. H. 1, 16:
occidi,id. ib. 3, 34:
prohiberi,Just. 14, 5, 9: coeptum est fieri, Auct. B. Afr. 69; 78; Liv. 24, 49, 4; 25, 34, 13; 27, 42, 5.—
(g) With acc. (rare in prose; cf. B. infra): coepit cursum, Att. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 22, 45:
novam mapalibus urbem,Sil. 15, 420:
cur non ego id perpetrem, quod coepi?Plaut. Cas. 3, 5, 57:
si quicquam hodie hic turbae coeperis,Ter. Eun. 4, 7, 30:
quae coeperamus,Quint. 6, prooem. 15:
hujuscemodi orationem,Tac. A. 4. 37:
(Sabinus) obsidium coepit per praesidia,id. ib. 4, 39.—
(d) Absol.:
nam primum ... Non coepisse fuit: coepta expugnare secundum est,Ov. M. 9, 619:
dimidium facti, qui coepit, habet,Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 40:
Titus Livius hexametri exordio coepit,Quint. 9, 4, 74; cf. id. 9, 4, 117:
si coepisset a toto corpore,id. 9, 4, 23; cf. id. 7, 1, 2; 8, 6, 50:
pro vallo castrorum ita coepit (sc. dicere),Tac. H. 1, 36:
Civilis ita coepit,id. ib. 5, 26; id. A. 1, 41; 2, 37.—(e) With an ellipsis for dicere coepi, to begin to speak:
ita coepit tyrannus,Liv. 34, 31, 1; 39, 15, 2:
coram data copia fandi, Maximus Ilioneus placido sic pectore coepit,Verg. A. 1, 521; 6, 372:
tum ita coepit: numquam mihi, etc.,Liv. 28, 27, 1; Tac. A. 1, 41 fin.:
ad hunc modum coepit,id. ib. 2, 37; id. H. 1, 36 fin.; Phaedr. 4, 23, 2.—
B Pass. in the tempp. perff. and with the inf. pass. (cf. Zumpt, Gram, §
221): jure coepta appellari est Canis,Plaut. Men. 5, 1, 18:
ante petitam esse pecuniam, quam esset coepta deberi,Cic. de Or. 1, 37, 168; id. Div. 2, 2, 7; id. Brut. 67, 236; 88, 301; Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 90, § 209; 2, 5, 4, § 9; id. Fam. 13, 29, 1; id. Att. 3, 15, 5; 6, 1, 3; Liv. 1, 57, 3; 2, 1, 4; 3, 38, 2;
9, 7, 7: quae (res) inter eos agi coeptae, neque perfectae essent,Caes. B. G. 1, 47; 4, 18:
bello premi sunt coepti,Nep. Timoth. 3, 1; Cat. 95, 2.—With inf. act.:
mitescere discordiae intestinae coeptae,Liv. 5, 17, 10; cf. Weissenb. ad loc.— Hence, coeptus, a, um, Part., begun, commenced, undertaken. consilium fraude coeptum, Liv. 35, 36, 5:
coeptum atque patratum bellum foret,Sall. J. 21, 2:
jussis Carmina coepta tuis,Verg. E. 8, 12; so,
coepti fiducia belli,id. A. 2, 162; Liv. 35, 23, 1:
amor,Ov. H. 17, 189:
iter,id. F. 1, 188:
arma,Tac. H. 2, 6; 4, 61:
coeptam deinde omissam actionem repetere,id. ib. 4,44:
dies,id. A. 4, 25 (cf. infra II.):
luce,id. ib. 1, 65;
15, 55: nocte,id. ib. 2, 13:
hieme,id. ib. 12, 31. —Hence, subst.: coeptum, i, n., a work begun, a beginning, undertaking (most freq. after the Aug. per. and in the plur.; perh. never in Cic.;
also not in Hor.): ut repetam coeptum pertexere dictis,Lucr. 1, 418:
nec taedia coepti Ulla mei capiam,Ov. M. 9, 616:
coepti paenitentia,Quint. 12, 5, 3; Suet. Oth. 5:
manus ultima coepto Defuit,Ov. Tr. 2, 555: ne audaci coepto deessent; Liv. 42, 59, 7; cf. Verg. G. 1, 40:
feroci,Sil. 11, 202.—With adv.:
bene coepto,Liv. 45, 15, 7:
bene coepta,Vell. 2, 14; and:
temere coepta,Liv. 36, 15, 2.—Plur.:
coeptis meis,Ov. M. 1, 2:
nostris,id. ib. 9, 486:
immanibus,Verg. A. 4, 642 al.—Without adj., Ov. M. 8, 67; 8, 463; Liv. 23, 35, 16; 23, 41, 4; 24, 13, 4; Tac. H. 2, 85; 3, 52; Suet. Ner. 34; id. Vesp. 6 et saep.—
II Neutr., to begin, take a beginning, commence, originate, arise (most freq. since the Aug. per.; not in Cic.): neve inde navis incohandae exordium coepisset, Enn. ap. Auct. Her. 2, 22, 34 (Trag. Rel. v. 282 Vahl.):
sic odium coepit glandis,Lucr. 5, 1416:
post, ubi silentium coepit... verba facit, etc.,Sall. J. 33, 4:
cum primum deditio coepit,id. ib. 62, 7:
ubi dies coepit,id. ib. 91, 4 (cf. supra, I. 2. d):
vere coepturo,Plin. 16, 25, 41, § 98:
postquam apud Cadmiam pugna coepit,Nep. Epam. 10, 3; so,
pugna,Liv. 2, 6, 10; Quint. 2, 4, 42; 9, 4, 50; cf. id. 9, 4, 55:
quando coeperit haec ars,id. 2, 17, 8:
obsidium coepit per praesidia,Tac. A. 4, 49:
a quo jurgium coepit,Quint. 5, 10, 72; so with ab, Tac. H. 2, 47; and with ex, id. A. 15, 54 and 68; cf.:
quibus, uti mihi, ex virtute nobilitas coepit,Sall. J. 85, 17.