fătĕor — Lewis & Short
fătĕor, fassus, 2 (archaic
I inf. praes. faterier, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 148), v. dep. a. [from the root *f*a, fa/w, fari], to confess, own, grant, acknowledge.
I Prop. (freq. and class.; syn.: confiteor, profiteor); construed for the most part with acc. and inf. as object; rarely with the acc., de, or absol.
(a) With acc.:
si verum mihi eritis fassae, vinclis exsolvemini,Plaut. Truc. 4, 3, 10: so,
verum fateri,Plin. 27, 1, 1, § 2; Curt. 6, 3:
ut verius fatear,Eum. Grat. Act. 1:
quid fatebor?Plaut. Capt. 3, 4, 3; 2, 2, 67:
multi in tormentis mori maluerunt falsum fatendo quam infitiando dolere,Cic. Part. 14, 50:
peccatum, culpam,Ov. Tr. 1, 315; Hor. S. 2, 4, 4:
delicta,Ov. M. 4, 685:
mores suos,Quint. 10, 1, 100:
sensus suos,Ov. H. 21, 204:
paupertatem,id. M. 8, 634 et saep.—Prov.:
fatetur facinus, si quis judicium fugit,Pub. Syr. 174 Rib.—
(b) With acc. and inf. as object:
fateor atque etiam profiteor et prae me fero, te, etc.,Cic. Rab. Perd. 5, 17:
me despexe ad te per impluvium tuum, Fateor,Plaut. Mil. 2, 6, 73:
fateor eam esse importunam,id. As. 1, 1, 47:
si quis contra rem publicam se amici causa fecisse fateatur,Cic. Lael. 12, 40: qui se debere fateantur, *Caes. B. C. 3, 20, 3:
cum se Cicero ab illis plurimum fateatur adjutum,Quint. 10, 1, 40:
fateor me duci ventre,Hor. S. 2, 7, 37:
jura inventa metu injusti fateare necesse est,id. ib. 1, 3, 111; id. Ep. 2, 1, 85:
hominum igitur causa eas rerum copias comparatas fatendum est,Cic. N. D. 2, 63, 158.—With ellips. of acc.:
fateor peccavisse,Plaut. Most. 5, 2, 18:
non didici sane nescire fateri,Hor. A. P. 418.—With two acc.:
cum se servum fateatur tuum,Ter. Eun. 5, 2, 24:
eum (i. e. Jovem) ipsi lapides hominem fatebuntur,Lact. 1, 11, 28:
fassus hujus se spectaculi debitorem,Sen. Contr. 1, 1, 11.—
(g) With de:
cum de facto turpi aliquo aut inutili aut utroque fateatur,Cic. Inv. 2, 26, 77.—
(d) Absol.:
ita libenter confitetur, ut non solum fateri, sed etiam profiteri videatur,Cic. Caecin. 9, 24: Me. Est tibi nomen Menaechmo? M. Fateor, Plaut. Men. 5, 9, 48:
leno sum, fateor,Ter. Ad. 2, 1, 34:
non potest sine malo fateri,id. Eun. 4, 4, 47:
qui a Naevio vel sumpsisti multa, si fateris, vel, si negas, surripuisti,Cic. Brut. 19, 76; cf. Quint. 5, 12, 13:
nulline faterier audes?Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 148:
in fatendo lenis et summissa (vox),Quint. 11, 3, 63:
ad fatendum impulsus,id. 5, 13, 46:
da veniam fasso,Ov. P. 4, 2, 23; parenthetically: fateor, Plaut. Aul. 4.4, 16:
fatebor enim,Verg. E. 1, 31; id. A. 4, 20; Ov. M. 9, 362 al.—
II Transf.
A In gen., to discover, show, indicate, manifest (rare; not in Cic.): Laterensis nostri et fidem et animum singularem in rem publicam semper fatebor, bear witness to, Planc. ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 23, 4; Quint. 1, 6, 23:
innocentem fuisse patrem fatetur,id. 7, 1, 56; 1, 10, 37:
utque sedet vultu fassus Telamonius iram,Ov. Tr. 2, 525:
patinarum calore pisces vitalem motum fateri,Plin. 9, 57, 83, § 177:
mors sola fatetur, Quantula sint hominum corpuscula,Juv. 10, 172; 15, 132:
properabo fateri, quae, etc.,id. 3, 59:
Belus amnis non nisi refuso mari harenas fatetur,Plin. 36, 26, 65, § 190.—
B In gram. lang.:
fatendi modus,the indicative, Quint. 1, 6, 7; Varr. L. L. 8, 5, 8.!*?
1 In pass. signif.:
hunc (agrum) excipere nominatim, qui publicus esse fateatur,Cic. Agr. 2, 21, 57 (dub.).—
2 Impers.:
vulgo fatebatur, utique minorem eum legasse,Dig. 30, 1, 39, § 6.