dē-cŏquo — Lewis & Short
dē-cŏquo, xi, ctum, 3, v. a.
I To boil away, boil down, diminish by boiling.
A Lit.:
usque quo ad tertiam partem decoxeris,Varr. R. R. 1, 2, 26;
so acetum ad quartas, ad tertias,Col. 12, 34; Plin. 22, 25, 69, § 140:
in dimidiam partem,Col. 12, 24, 1:
aquam,id. 12, 26:
pars quarta (argenti) decocta erat,had melted away, passed off into dross, Liv. 32, 2.—
B Trop.
1 With acc., to diminish, repress, consume, waste:
multum inde decoquent anni,Quint. 2, 4, 7; Plin. 21, 6, 17, § 31:
accensam sed qui bene decoquat iram,Claud. in Eutrop. 2, 349.—Poet., with a personal object:
hic campo indulget, hunc alea decoquit,Pers. 5, 57.—
2 Absol.
a Of personal subjects, to run through the property of one's self or others; to become a bankrupt:
tenesne memoria, praetextatum te decoxisse?Cic. Phil. 2, 18:
qui primus hoc cognomen acceperit decoxit creditoribus suis,Plin. 33, 10, 47, § 133.—
b To waste away, become impaired, decline:
res ipsa jam domino decoxit,Col. 11, 1, 28:
quibus (annis) inertiā Caesarum (imperium) quasi decoxit,Flor. 1, prooem. 8.
templorum vectigalia cotidie decoquunt,Tert. adv. Gent. 42:
spero non tibi decoquet ornithon,Varr. R. R. 3, 2, 16.
II To boil, cook.
A Lit.:
axungiam fictili novo,Plin. 28, 9, 37, § 138:
cyathum aceti in calice novo,id. 32, 7, 25, § 78:
lentem in vino,id. 22, 25, 77, § 147:
rapa aqua,id. 18, 13, 34, § 126: olus, * Hor. S. 2, 1, 74 et saep.—Hence,
2 Part. perf. subst.
a dēcocta, ae, f. (sc. aqua), an icy-cold decoction, invented by Nero as a drink, Suet. Ner. 48; Juv. 5, 50; cf. Plin. 31, 3, 23, § 39. With aqua, Mart. 14, 116.—
b dē-coctum, i, n., a medicinal drink, potion, Plin. 22, 20, 23, § 49; 27, 12, 84, § 108 al.—
B Transf., pass. (acc. to coquo, no. I. b.), to ripen, dry, Plin. 17, 24, 37, § 226; Pall. 1, 34, 7.—
2 To concoct, fabricate, invent: consilia nefarii facinoris, Decl. M. Posc. Latr.—
3 Trop.: suavitatem habeat orator austeram et solidam, non dulcem et decoctam, a severe and solid, not a luscious and mellow sweetness (the fig. being taken from wine), Cic. de Or. 3, 26, 104.—Hence, dēcoctĭus, adj. comp. (cf. no. II. B. 2.), riper, of composition; more carefully elaborated:
aspice et haec, si forte aliquid decoctius audis,Pers. 1, 125.