dē-bello — Lewis & Short
dē-bello, āvi, ātum, 1, v. n. and
I a. (not ante-Aug.; esp. freq. in Livy).
I Neutr., to bring a war to an end, to finish a war. So rare in the act. form:
Aulius cum Ferentanis uno secundo proelio debellavit,Liv. 9, 16; cf. id. Epit. 33; id. 44, 39 fin.; 35, 35. But exceedingly common as an impersonal:
debellari eo die cum Samnitibus potuisse,Liv. 8, 36; cf. id. 4, 58:
ne absente se debellaretur,id. 41, 18:
proelioque uno debellatum est,id. 2, 26; 31, 48 fin. Drak.; cf. id. 7, 28:
debellatum est (erat, etc.),id. 2, 31; 3, 70; 9, 4 al.:
debellatum foret,id. 23, 13; Tac. Agr. 26; id. H. 3, 19; Flor. 3, 5, 11 al.:
debellatum iri,Liv. 29, 14; and in the part. perf. absol. debellato, after the war is ended (freq. in Livy):
eum quasi debellato triumphare,Liv. 26, 21; so id. 29, 32; 30, 8 al.—
II Act. (poet. and postAug.). *
A With a homogeneous object, to fight out:
rixa super mero debellata,Hor. Od. 1, 18, 8.—
B With heterog. object, to conquer completely, to vanquish, subdue:
parcere subjectis et debellare superbos,Verg. A. 6, 853;
gentem,id. ib. 5, 731:
hostem clamore,Tac. Agr. 34:
Darium,Plin. 6, 13, 16, § 41:
Gallias,Suet. Ner. 43:
Illyricum,id. Tib. 17: Indiam, * Ov. M. 4, 605; Vulg. Isa. 7, 1; 63, 10.—
2 Trop.:
olim fugissemus ex Asia, si nos fabulae debellare potuissent,Curt. 9, 2, 15:
debellat eos (fungos) et aceti natura,Plin. 22, 23, 47, § 99.