1. dē-scisco — Lewis & Short
dē-scisco, īvi or ĭi, ītum, 3, v. n., orig. a publicist's t. t.
I to free one's self from a connection with any one, to withdraw, leave, revolt from, = sciscendo deficere; and with an indication of the terminus, to desert to, go over to any one (class. prose).
I Prop.:
multae longinquiores civitates ab Afranio desciscunt,Caes. B. C. 1, 60 fin.; so,
ab aliquo,id. ib. 2, 32, 2; Cic. Phil. 11, 9, 21; Liv. 6, 36; Nep. Alc. 5, 1; id. Dat. 5, 5; Just. 5, 1 fin. et saep.:
ad aliquem (opp. a nobis deficere),Liv. 31, 7; cf.:
Praeneste ab Latinis ad Romanos descivit,id. 2, 19;
and simply: ad aliquem,id. 26, 21; Front. Strat. 4, 3, 14 al.; cf. pass. impers.:
quibus invitis descitum ad Samnites erat,Liv. 9, 16; and Flor. 3, 5, 6.—Absol.:
cum Fidenae aperte descissent,Liv. 1, 27; 21, 19; Tac. H. 1, 31; Suet. Caes. 68; Nep. Tim. 3, 1; id. Ham. 2, 2; Front. Strat. 1, 8, 6: Stat. Th. 2, 311 al.—
II Transf. beyond the political sphere, to depart, deviate, withdraw from a person or thing; to fall off from, be unfaithful to:
a nobis desciscere quaeres?Lucr. 1, 104:
a se ipse,Cic. Att. 2, 4, 2:
si Cicero a Demosthene paulum in hac parte descivit,Quint. 9, 4, 146:
cur Zeno ab hac antiqua institutione desciverit,Cic. Fin. 4, 8; so,
a pristina causa,id. Fam. 1, 9, 17 Orell. N. cr.:
a veritate,id. Ac. 2, 15:
a natura,id. Tusc. 3, 2:
a disciplina,Vell. 2, 81:
a virtute,id. 2, 1:
a consuetudine parentum,Plin. Ep. 3, 20, 4 et saep.:
a vita,to separate, sever one's self, Cic. Fin. 3, 18, 61 (opp. manere in vita).—Pass. impers.:
praecipiti cursu a virtute descitum, ad vitia transcursum,Vell. 2, 1.—Stating the terminus, to fall off to, decline to; to degenerate into:
ab excitata fortuna ad inclinatam et prope jacentem,Cic. Fam. 2, 16; cf.:
ad saevitiam, ad cupiditatem,Suet. Dom. 10: in regem (i. e. to degenerate, be transformed), Flor. 4, 3:
in monstrum,id. 4, 11.—
B Of subjects not personal:
quis ignorat et eloquentiam et ceteras artes descivisse ab ista vetere gloria,Tac. Or. 28:
(vitis) gracili arvo non desciscit,does not degenerate, Col. 3, 2, 13:
semina,id. 3, 10, 18.