dē-vŏro — Lewis & Short
dē-vŏro, āvi, ātum, 1,
I v. a., to swallow, swallow down, gulp down, devour (class.; esp. freq. in transf. signif.—for syn. cf.: edo, comedo, vescor, pascor, mando).
I Lit., of the physical act:
id quod devoratur,Cic. N. D. 2, 54, 135:
ovum gallinaceum integrum,Cato R. R. 71: laseris paululum, Cels. 4, 4, 4:
salivam suam,id. 2, 6, 98;
lapides,Plin. 8, 10, 10, § 29:
succum,id. 20, 23, 98, § 260:
fumum,id. 26, 6, 16, § 30 et saep.—
II Transf.
A Of inanimate subjects, to swallow up, ingulf, absorb:
devorer telluris hiatu,Ov. H. 3, 63:
terra devoravit montem,Plin. 2, 91, 93, § 205:
vel me Charybdis devoret,Ov. Tr. 5, 2, 74:
terras devorant aquae,Plin. 31, 1, 1, § 2:
sol aquas devorans,id. 20 prooem. § 1:
ne rotae devorarentur (viarum mollitudine),Vitr. 10, 6.—
B To seize upon greedily or hastily, to swallow eagerly, to devour: meretricem ego item esse reor, mare ut est;
quod des, devorat,Plaut. Truc. 2, 7, 16:
spe et opinione praedam,Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 51; cf.:
spe devoratum lucrum,id. Fl. 24; and:
regis hereditatem spe,id. Att. 1, 16, 10:
aliquid oculis,Just. 21, 5, 6; cf.:
spectat oculis devorantibus draucos,Mart. 1, 97; cf. infra III. B.—
C To swallow down, repress, suppress, check: verborum pars devorari solet, to be swallowed, i. e. only half pronounced, Quint. 11, 3, 33; so, verba, Sen. de Ira, 3, 14 fin.; cf.
lacrimas,i. e. to repress, Ov. F. 4, 845; id. M. 13, 540:
gemitus,Sen. Ep. 66 med.—
D Of property, to consume, to waste, = exhaurire:
omnem pecuniam publicam,Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 76; id. Phil. 13, 2, 3; id. Pis. 21.—And with a pers. object: Si. Jamne illum comesurus es? Ba. Dum recens est, Dum datur, dum calet, devorari decet, Plaut. Ps. 4, 7, 26; id. As. 2, 2, 71; cf.: ut hominem devorari, cujus patrimonium consumitur, Quint. 8, 6, 25.—
2 Trop., to consume, destroy:
devorent vos arma vestra,Just. 14, 4, 14; cf.:
aquilarum pinnae reliquarum alitum pinnas devorant,Plin. 10, 3, 4, § 15:
vox devoratur,i. e. is swallowed up, lost, id. 11, 51, 112, § 270: devoravi nomen imprudens, swallowed, i. e. I have lost, utterly forgotten, Plaut. Trin. 4, 2, 63: devorato pudore, Ap. M. 9, p. 225.—
III Trop.
A To swallow any thing unpleasant, i. e to bear patiently, to endure:
hominum ineptias ac stultitias,Cic. Brut. 67, 236; so,
molestiam paucorum dierum,id. Phil. 6, 6, 17:
taedium illud,Quint. 11, 2, 41: bilem et dolorem, Tert. Res. carn. 54.—
B To accept eagerly, enjoy:
quid tibi faciam qui illos libros devorasti,Cic. Att. 7, 3, 2:
os impiorum devorat iniquitatem,Vulg. Prov. 19, 28:
auscultate et mea dicta devorate,Plaut. As. 3, 3, 59; cf.:
orationem dulcem (aures),id. Poen. 5, 2, 9:
verbum ipsum (voluptatis),id. Sest. 10, 23.—
C ejus oratio, nimia religione attenuata, a multitudine et a foro devorabatur, qs. swallowed but not digested (i. e. heard without being understood), Cic. Brut. 82, 283.