dē-mĭnŭo — Lewis & Short
dē-mĭnŭo, ui, ūtum, 3,
I v. a., to lessen by taking from, i. e. to make smaller, to lessen, diminish (cf. diminuo, to break up into small parts—freq. and class.).
I Lit.:
de mina una quinque nummos,Plaut. Truc. 2, 7, 10:
istum laborem tibi,Plaut. Aul. 2, 1, 43 (cf. Wagner ad loc.):
ne de bonis quae Octavii fuissent deminui pateretur,Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 2, 3, § 10; cf. Cic. de Or. 3, 49, 189:
deminuunt aequora venti,Lucr. 5, 268; 390:
deminutae copiae,Caes. B. G. 7, 31, 3; 7, 73; id. B. C. 3, 2; Liv. 2, 1; Tac. A. 12, 64 al.:
militum vires inopia frumenti deminuerat,Caes. B. C. 1, 52; Tac. A. 13, 58:
fenore deminuto,Suet. Aug. 41:
arborem,Tac. A. 13, 58 al.—
II Trop.
A In gen., to take away from, abate, lessen, etc.:
de hujus praesidiis deminuturum putavit,Cic. Sull. 1, 2:
neque de tanta voluptate et gratulatione quicquam fortuna deminuerat,Caes. B. G. 1, 53, 6:
aliquid de jure aut de legibus,id. ib. 7, 33; Liv. 8, 34:
de sua in Aeduos benevoientia,Caes. B. G. 7, 43, 4:
de libertate mea,Cic. Planc. 38:
ex regia potestate,Liv. 2, 1:
alicui timor studia deminuit,Caes. B. C. 2, 31, 4:
partem aliquam juris,Cic. Caecin. 2, 5; cf. Liv. 4, 24:
sententiam hujus interdicti (coupled with inflrmata),Cic. Caecin, 13, 38:
dignitatem nostri collegii,id. Brut. 1:
potentiam,Caes. B. G. 1, 18, 8:
lenitatem imperitantis,Tac. A. 16, 28:
curam,Prop. 2, 18, 21 (3, 10, 21 M.) al.: se capite deminuere, to lose or forfeit civil rights, be deprived of citizenship, Cic. Top. 4, 18; 6, 29; Liv. 22, 60, 15; cf. caput, no. III. 1. b.—
B Esp. in grammat. lang., to form into a diminutive:
sacellum ex sacro deminutum est,Gell. 6, 12, 6: deminuuntur adverbia, ut primum, primule; longe, longule, etc., Don. p. 21 Lind. N. cr. Cf.: deminutus, deminutio, and deminutivus.— Hence, dēmĭnūtus, a, um, P. a. (very rare), diminished, small, diminutive.
A In gen.:
deminutior qualitas,Tert. adv. Marc. 2, 9.—
B In grammat. lang., diminutive, u(pokoristiko/s (for which, later, deminutivus): pro nomine integro positum sit deminutum (viz. in the expression magnum peculiolum), Quint. 1, 5, 46.