dē-fĭcĭo — Lewis & Short
dē-fĭcĭo, fēci, fectum, 3 (
I perf. subj.: defexit, an old formula in Liv. 1, 24 fin., see below, no. III. fin. In the pass., besides the regular form deficior, ante- and postclass., once in Verg., Propert., and Livy, like fīo, eri: defit, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 3, 19; Plaut. Mil. 4, 6, 46; Ter. Eun. 2, 2, 12; Lucr. 2, 1142; Verg. E. 2, 22; Prop. 1, 1, 34:
deflunt,Gell. 20, 8, 5:
defiat,Plaut. Men. 1, 4, 3; id. Rud. 4, 4, 63:
defiet,Liv. 9, 11:
defieri,Ter. Hec. 5, 2, 2; cf. conficio init.), v. a. and n. facio, orig., to loosen, set free, remove from; but it passed over at a very early period into the middle sense, to loosen from one's self, to remove one's self, to break loose from; and then gradually assumed the character of a new verb. act., with the meaning to leave, desert, depart from something, or absol., to depart, cease, fail. (For syn. cf.: desum, absum, descisco, negligo.)
I Act. in the middle sense, to remove one's self, separate one's self, to withdraw (cf. the Greek a)fista/nai).—Hence, to forsake, desert, abandon, revolt.
A Lit.:
ab amicitia P. R.,Caes. B. G. 5, 3, 3; 7, 39, 3:
ab Aeduis,id. ib. 2, 14, 3:
ab rege,Sall. J. 56, 3; cf. ib. 66:
(consules) a senatu, a republica, a bonis omnibus defecerant,Cic. Planc. 35; cf.:
a republica,id. Cat. 11, 28; id. Fam. 12, 10; id. Sull. 12, 35:
ab imperio ac nomine nostro,Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 31 et saep.:
a patribus ad plebem,to go over, Liv. 6, 20:
ad se,Sall. J. 61; cf.:
ad Poenos,Liv. 22, 61.—Absol.:
civitates quae defecerant,Caes. B. G. 3, 17, 2; 5, 25, 4; 7, 10 al.—
B Trop.:
si a virtute defeceris,forsake, Cic. Lael. 11, 37:
si utilitas ab amicitia defecerit,id. Fin. 2, 24, 79:
ut a me ipse deficerem,id. Fam. 2, 16.—Hence,
II As a verb. act., to leave a person or thing, to desert, to fail, forsake, be wanting to (of things;
very rarely of personal subjects): quem jam sanguis viresque deficiunt,Caes. B. G. 7, 50 fin.; so,
vires,id. B. C. 3, 99 fin.; Cic. de Or. 1, 45, 199:
me Leontina civitas,Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 46, § 110; id. ib. 2, 5, 28 fin.; Hor. S. 2, 1, 13 et saep.:
res eos jam pridem, fides deficere nuper coepit,Cic. Cat. 2, 5, 10:
me dies, vox, latera deficiant, si, etc.,Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 21 (imitated word for word, Plin. Ep. 3, 9, 9); cf.:
ne te de republica disserentem deficiat oratio,Cic. Rep. 1, 23; and:
tempus te citius quam oratio deficeret,id. Rosc. Am. 32:
animus si te non deficit aequus,Hor. Ep. 1, 11, 30:
somnus sollicitas domus,Tib. 3, 4, 20: genitor Phaethontis orbem, i. e. is eclipsed (cf. III. B. infra), Ov. M. 2, 382.—Poet. with a subject-clause: nec me deficiet nautas rogitare citatos, i. e. I will not cease, etc. Prop. 1, 8, 23 Kuin.—
b Pass.:
cum aquilifer jam viribus deficeretur,Caes. B. C. 3, 64, 3; cf.:
mulier a menstruis defecta,Cels. 2, 8 fin.:
mulier abundat audacia, consilio et ratione deficitur,Cic. Clu. 65, 184:
aqua ciboque defecti,Quint. 3, 8, 23; Plin. Ep. 2, 17, 25:
sanguine defecti artus,Ov. M. 5, 96 et saep.:
si qui dotem promisit defectus sit facultatibus,i. e. unable to pay, Dig. 23, 3, 33; cf.:
te defecta nomina,ib. 22, 1, 11 fin.—
III Middle or neuter, to run out, be wanting, fail, cease, disappear.
A Middle (mostly ante-class. and poet.).
(a) With dat.: mihi fortuna magis nunc defit, quam genus, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 3, 19; Ter. Hec. 5, 2, 2:
lac mihi non aestate novum, non frigore defit,Verg. E. 2, 22.—
(b) Absol.:
neque opsonium defiat neque supersit,Plaut. Men. 1, 4, 3;
so opp. superesse,Ter. Ph. 1, 3, 10:
ut defiat dies,Plaut. Rud. 4, 4, 63: id. Mil. 4, 6, 46:
numquamne causa defiet, cur? etc.,Liv. 9, 11.—Trop.:
defectis (sc. animo) defensoribus,disheartened, Caes. B. C. 3, 40, 3:
sed non usque eo defectum Germanicum,weakened, Tac. A. 2, 70; cf. in the foll. no. B. b.—
B Neuter.
(a) With dat. (so rarely; mostly poet.):
cum non solum vires, sed etiam tela nostris deficerent,Caes. B. G. 3, 5, 1;
so perh.: vires nostris,id. B. C. 2, 41, 7 (al. nostros); Sil. 8, 661 Oud. N. cr.; cf. id. 10, 10, 193; and Stat. Ach. 1, 445.—
(b) Absol. (freq. in all periods and kinds of composition):
non frumentum deficere poterat,Caes. B. C. 2, 37 fin.; cf.:
fructus ex arboribus,id. ib. 3, 58 fin.:
ejus generis copia,id. B. G. 6, 16 fin.:
tempus anni ad bellum gerendum,id. ib. 4, 20, 2:
vereor, ne mihi crimina non suppeterent, ne oratio deesset, ne vox viresque deficerent,Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 11:
nisi memoria forte defecerit,id. Fin. 2, 14, 44; id. Rep. 1, 3:
non deficiente crumena,Hor. Ep. 1, 4, 11 et saep.; Juv. 11, 38:
quod plena luna defecisset,was eclipsed, Cic. Rep. 1, 15; cf.:
solem lunae oppositum solere deficere,id. ib. 1, 16 al.; also simply to set:
qua venit exoriens, qua deficit,Prop. 4, 4, 27: lunā deficiente, waning (opp. crescente), Gell. 20, 8, 5; of fire and light, to go out, expire, become extinct:
ignis,Verg. G. 352:
lumen,Petr. 111, 4:
progenies Caesarum in Nerone deficit,becomes extinct, dies out, Suet. Galb. 1; cf. Plin. Pan. 39, 6; Just. 7, 2, 4; Sen. Suas. 2, 22;
but deficit ignis,does not extend, Verg. A. 2, 505:
in hac voce defecit,he departed, expired, Suet. Aug. 99; Quint. 6 prooem. § 11: deficit omne quod nascitur, comes to an end, Quint. 5, 10, 79; cf.:
mundum deficere,id. ib.:
deficit vita,Plaut. Asin. 3, 3, 19;
quod multi Gallicis tot bellis defecerant,had been lost, Caes. B. C. 3, 2 fin.:
ultima jam passi comites bello Deficiunt,grow faint, Ov. M. 14, 483:
deficit Matho,fails, becomes bankrupt, Juv. 7, 129:
debitores,Dig. 49, 14, 3, § 8:
munimenta defecerant,yielded, surrendered, Curt. 4, 4, 19.—Trop.:
ne negotio desisteret neu animo deficeret,nor be disheartened, Caes. B. C. 3, 112 fin.; so,
animo,id. B. G. 7, 30; id. B. C. 1, 19; 2, 43; Cic. Rosc. Am. 4, 10;
for which, ne deficiant (apes) animum,Varr. R. R. 3, 16, 34; and in a like sense absol.:
ne una plaga accepta patres conscripti conciderent, ne deficerent,Cic. Att. 1, 16, 9; so Caes. B. C. 2, 31 fin.; Sall. J. 51, 4:
deficit ars,Ov. M. 11, 537: illis legibus populus Romanus prior non deficiet: si prior defexit publico consilio dolo malo, tu illo die, Juppiter, etc., to depart from, violate the conditions of a treaty, an old formula used in taking an oath, Liv. 1, 24 fin.:
pugnando deficere,i. e. to be deficient, wanting, Caes. B. C. 2, 6, 3; cf. poet. with foll. inf.:
suppeditare Materies,Lucr. 1, 1039; Sil. 3, 112; Tib. 4, 1, 191.— Hence, dēfectus, a, um, P. a. (acc. to no. III.), weak, weakened, worn out, enfeebled (not ante-Aug.):
quod sibi defectis illa tulisset opem,Ov. F. 3, 674:
defectus annis et desertus viribus,Phaedr. 1, 21, 3; cf.:
defectissimus annis et viribus,Col. 1 prooem. § 12:
senio (arbor),id. 5, 6, 37:
laboribus,Val. Fl. 2, 285:
vadit incerto pede, jam viribus defecta,Sen. Hippol. 374:
defectae senectutis homine,Dig. 7, 1, 12, § 3:
in tumidis et globosis (speculis) omnia defectiora (corresp. with paria and auctiora),smaller, App. Mag. p. 283.—Plur. subst.: dēfecti, ōrum, m.:
sidera obscura attributa defectis,the weak, Plin. 2, 8, 6, § 28.