dī-mĭco — Lewis & Short
dī-mĭco, āvi (e. g. dimicavere,
Vell. 2, 85, 1;I
dimicaverant,Caes. B. C. 2, 4, 3;
dimicassent,Vell. 2, 85, 5 al.;
dimicuisse,Ov. Am. 2, 7, 2; 2, 13, 28), ātum, 1, v. n., lit., to brandish one's weapons against the enemy, i. e. to fight, struggle, contend (freq. and class.).
I Lit.:
manum conserere atque armis dimicare,Caes. B. C. 1, 20, 4:
armis cum aliquo,Nep. Milt. 1, 2:
ferro pro patria,Liv. 1, 24:
acie cum aliquo,id. 2, 49 fin.;
for which: in acie,Caes. B. G. 7, 64, 2:
proelio,id. ib. 5, 16, 2;
6, 31, 1 al.: equitatu,Nep. Eum. 3 fin.:
adversus aliquem,Nep. Milt. 4 fin.:
pro legibus, pro libertate, pro patria,Cic. Tusc. 4, 19 et saep.:
tuto dimicare,Caes. B. G. 3, 24, 2; so absol., id. ib. 2, 21, 5; 3, 17 fin. et saep.—Pass. impers.:
ancipiti proelio dimicatur,Caes. B. C. 3, 63, 3; so,
proelio,id. ib. 1, 41, 3; 3, 72, 3 al.;
and without proelio,id. B. G. 5, 16, 1; id. B. C. 3, 85, 3; Cic. Off. 1, 12, 38; cf.:
in mortem dimicabatur,Vell. 2, 85, 4 al.—In partic. of gladiatorial combats, Suet. Caes. 26; 39; id. Calig. 27; 30; Plin. 8, 7, 7, § 18 al.—
b With an abstr. subject:
leonum feritas inter se non dimicat,Plin. H. N. 7 prooem. § 5.
II Transf. beyond the milit. sphere, to struggle, to strive, to contend: omni ratione erit dimicandum, ut, etc., Cic. Div. ap. Caecil. 22, 72:
dimicantes competitores,Liv. 6, 41:
de sua potentia periculo civitatis,Cic. Att. 7, 3; esp. with the accessory idea of risk, hazard: reos, de capite, de fama, de civitate, de fortunis, de liberis dimicantes (for which, shortly before: qui auderent se et salutem suam in discrimen offerre), Cic. Sest. 1: de honore et gloria (for which, shortly before: de vita, de gloria in discrimen vocantur), id. Off. 1, 24, 83:
de vita gloriae causa,id. Arch. 10, 23; cf.:
de vita,id. ib. 11 fin.; Liv. 24, 26: de omnibus fortunis reip., Pompei. ap. Cic. Att. 8, 12 D.:
de fama,Nep. Timoth. 4, 3:
de liberis,Liv. 3, 44 fin.; and:
de repulsa,i. e. at the risk of one, id. 6, 40; cf. also without de:
ut in singulas horas capite dimices tuo,Liv. 2, 12 (in Cic. Fin. 2, 17, 56, the reading is dubious, v. Madv. ad h. l.).—
b In Tertullian, borrowed from the lang. of gladiators (v. supra, no. I.):
ad hanc jam lineam dimicabit nostra congressio,Tert. Pudic. 6; id. adv. Marc. 1, 7.