lac — Lewis & Short
lac, lactis (lacte, Enn. ap.
nom.Non. 483, 2; Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 85; id. Bacch. 5, 2, 16 RitschlI N. cr. al.; and lact, Aus. Idyll. 12; Mart. Cap. 3, § 307; masc. acc. lactem, App. M. 8, p. 214 fin.; 215 init.; but dub. in Gell. 12, 1, 17, where Hertz reads lacte), n. Gr. ga/la, gen. ga/lakt-os, milk.
I Lit.:
dulci repletur lacte,Lucr. 5, 814:
cum lacte nutricis errorem suxisse,Cic. Tusc. 3, 1, 2:
lacte vivere,Caes. B. G. 4, 1:
lac mihi non aestate novum, non frigore defit,Verg. E. 2, 22:
concretum vimine querno lac,Ov. M. 12, 437:
lactis inopia ... abundantia,Col. 5, 12, 2:
a lacte cunisque,from the cradle, from infancy, Quint. 1, 1, 21:
lac pressum,cheese, Verg. E. 1, 82:
coagulatum,Plin. 23, 7, 64, § 128.—Prov.:
tam similem quam lacte lacti'st,as like as one egg is to another, Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 85; cf.:
neque lac lacti magis est simile,id. Am. 2, 1, 54; id. Men. 5, 9, 30: lac gallinaceum, chicken's milk, of something very rare, Plin. N. H. praef. § 23; Petr. 38, 1:
qui plus lactis quam sanguinis habet,of tender age, Juv. 11, 68.—
B Trop., for something sweet, pleasant: in melle sunt linguae sitae nostrae atque orationes, lacteque;
corda felle sunt lita,Plaut. Truc. 1, 2, 77:
ut mentes ... satiari velut quodam jucundioris disciplinae lacte patiantur,Quint. 2, 4, 5.—
II Transf.
A Milky juice, milk of plants:
herbae, nigri cum lacte veneni,Verg. A. 4, 514:
herbarum,Ov. M. 11, 606:
tenero dum lacte, quod intro est, id. Nux, 95: ficulneum,Col. 7, 8, 1:
caprifici,Cels. 5, 7.—
B Milk-white color (poet.): candidus taurus ... una fuit labes;
cetera lactis erant,Ov. A. A. 1, 290.