1. făber — Lewis & Short
făber, bri (
I gen. plur. most freq. fabrum; cf.:
jam ut censoriae tabulae loquuntur, fabrum et procum audeo dicere, non fabrorum et procorum,Cic. Or. 46, 156: fabrum, Caes. ap. Cic. Att. 9, 8, C, 2; Caes. B. C. 1, 24, 4; Plin. 34, 1, 1, § 1 al.:
fabrorum,Plaut. Most. 1, 2, 54; Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 56, § 147; Plin. 35, 15, 51, § 182 al.), m. Sanscr. root bha-, gleam, shine; Gr. fhmi/, say, fai/nw, show; cf. for, a worker in wood, stone, metal, etc., a forger, smith, artificer, carpenter, joiner (syn.: artifex, opifex, operarius), te/ktwn.
I Prop.
A With adj. of material, etc., specifying the trade:
tamen ego me Phidiam esse mallem, quam vel optimum fabrum tignarium,carpenter, Cic. Brut. 73, 257; so,
tignarius,id. Rep. 2, 22; Inscr. Orell. 4087; cf.:
fabros tignarios dicimus non eos duntaxat, qui tigna dolant, sed omnes, qui aedificant,Dig. 50, 16, 235:
ut fortunati sunt fabri ferrarii, Qui apud carbones assident!blacksmiths, Plaut. Rud. 2, 6, 47:
fabrum aerariorum conlegium,copper-smiths, braziers, Plin. 34, 1, 1, § 1; cf.:
marmoris aut eboris fabros aut aeris amavit,Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 96:
† eburarius, Inscr. ap. Spon. Misc. p. 222: † intestinarius,one who does the fine carved work in wood for the interior of a building, a joiner, Inscr. Orell. 4182:
† a Corinthiis,ib. 4181:
† oculariarius,one who made silver eyes for statues, ib. 4185.—
B In gen.:
ut arcessatur faber, ut istas compedis tibi adimam,Plaut. Capt. 5, 4, 29:
cogito, utrum me dicam medicum ducere an fabrum,id. Men. 5, 3, 11:
hominem pro fabro aut pro tectore emere,Cic. Planc. 25, 62:
fabri ad aedificandam rem publicam,work-people, workmen, laborers, id. Fam. 9, 2, 5; cf. Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 19, § 48:
ex legionibus fabros delegit,the workmen belonging to the army, Caes. B. G. 5, 11, 3;
whose overseer was called praefectus fabrūm,id. B. C. 1, 24, 4:
His fabris crescunt patrimonia,i. e. these smiths know how to add to their patrimonies, Juv. 14, 116:
faber volans, i. e. Icarus,id. 1, 54.— Prov.: faber est quisque fortunae suae, every man is the maker of his own fortune, Appius ap. Sall. de Republ. Ordin. 1.