flūmen — Lewis & Short
flūmen, ĭnis, n.id.,
I a flowing of water; and concr., a flood, stream, flowing or running water (syn.: fluvius, amnis, rivus).
I In gen. (mostly poet.): Romane, aquam Albanam cave lacu contineri, cave in mare manare suo flumine sinas, an old prophetic formula ap. Liv. 5, 16, 9:
rapidus montano flumine torrens,Verg. A. 2, 305; cf. Ov. R. Am. 651:
visendus ater flumine languido Cocytos errans,Hor. C. 2, 14, 17:
inde sequemur Ipsius amnis iter, donec nos flumine certo Perferat,Val. Fl. 8, 189: et Tiberis flumen vomit in mare salsum, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 4 (Ann. v. 453 ed. Vahl.); cf.:
teque pater Tiberine tuo cum flumine sancto,id. ib. 6, 1 (Ann. v. 55 ib.):
donec me flumine vivo Abluero,in a living, running stream, Verg. A. 2, 719; cf.: quin tu ante vivo perfunderis flumine? Auct. ap. Liv. 1, 45, 6 (for which:
aqua viva,Varr. L. L. 5, § 123 Müll.).—In plur.:
nymphae venas et flumina fontis Elicuere sui,streams, Ov. M. 14, 788:
frigida Scamandri,Hor. Epod. 13, 14:
Symaethia circum Flumina,Verg. A. 9, 585:
limosa potat,Ov. M. 1, 634; cf.:
Tantalus a labris sitiens fugientia captat Flumina,Hor. S. 1, 1, 69:
maritima immittere in piscinas,Varr. R. R. 3, 17, 9.
II In partic., a river.
A Lit. (the predominant signif. of the word both in prose and poetry): quod per amoenam urbem leni fluit agmine flumen, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 4 (Ann. v. 177 ed. Vahl.); cf.:
ut flumina in contrarias partes fluxerint,Cic. Div. 1, 35, 78:
Scipio biduum moratus ad flumen, quod inter eum et Domitii castra fluebat,Caes. B. C. 3, 37, 1:
aurea flumina,Lucr. 5, 911:
habet non tantum venas aquarum terra, ex quibus corrivatis flumina effici possunt, sed et amnes magnitudinis vastae, etc.,Sen. Q. N. 3, 19; cf. Cic. Rep. 2, 5:
nec ullum hoc frigidius flumen attigi,id. Leg. 2, 3, 6:
nos flumina arcemus, dirigimus, avertimus,id. N. D. 2, 60, 152:
una pars (Galliae) initium capit a flumine Rhodano, continetur Garumna flumine ... attingit etiam flumen Rhenum, etc.,Caes. B. G. 1, 1, 6 sq.; 1, 2, 7:
inter montem Juram et flumen Rhodanum,id. ib. 1, 6, 1:
flumen est Arar, quod, etc.,id. ib. 1, 12, 1:
flumen Dubis,id. ib. 1, 38, 4:
non Seres, non Tanain prope flumen orti,Hor. C. 4, 15, 24:
Veliternos ad Asturae flumen Maenius fudit,Liv. 8, 13, 5 Drak. N. cr.:
terrarum situs et flumina dicere,Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 252:
secundo flumine ad Lutetiam iter facere coepit,with the stream, Caes. B. G. 7, 58, 5 (cf. secundus, 2. a.):
magnum ire agmen adverso flumine,against the stream, Caes. B. G. 7, 60, 3; cf. Verg. G. 1, 201; Liv. 24, 40. —Prov.:
flumine vicino stultus sitit, like,starves in the midst of plenty, Petr. Fragm. p. 899 Burm.—
2 Transf., of other things which flow in streams or like streams, a stream, flood (poet. and in post-Aug. prose):
sanguinis,Lucr. 2, 354; 4, 1029:
largoque humectat flumine vultum,flood of tears, Verg. A. 1, 465:
laeta magis pressis manabunt flumina mammis,streams of milk, id. G. 3, 310:
flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris,Ov. M. 1, 111: rigido concussae flumine nubes Exonerabantur, a torrent of rain, Petr. poët. Sat. 123; cf.:
ut picis e caelo demissum flumen,a stream of pitch, Lucr. 6, 257:
magnesia flumine saxa,in the magnetic stream, id. 6, 1064:
effusaeque ruunt inopino flumine turbae,i. e. in a vast stream, Sil. 12, 185; cf. Verg. A. 11, 236:
aëris,a current of air, App. de Mund. p. 61, 33 Elm. p. 258 Bip.—
B Trop., of expression, a flow, fluency, stream:
orationis flumine reprehensoris convicia diluuntur,Cic. N. D. 2, 7, 20:
flumen orationis aureum,id. Ac. 2, 38, 119:
orationis,id. de Or. 2, 15, 62; cf.:
flumen verborum volubili tasque,id. Or. 16, 53:
gravissimorum op timorumque verborum,id. de Or. 2, 45, 188:
inanium verborum,id. N. D. 2, 1, 1:
Lysias ... puro fonti quam magno flumini propior,Quint. 10, 1, 78; 9, 4, 61; cf. id. 10, 1, 61; Petr. 5 fin.—And fig.:
neque concipere neque edere partum mens potest, nisi ingenti flumine litterarum inundata,Petr. 118.