lībro — Lewis & Short
lībro, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a.libra.
I To balance, make even, level, to determine a level: aquam, to level water, i. e. to ascertain the fall of water by means of a level, Vitr. 8, 6, 3: collocationem libratam indicare, id 8, 6, 1.—Pass. impers.:
libratur autem dioptris,Vitr. 8, 6, 1.—
B Transf., to make even or level:
pavimenta,Cato, R. R. 18, 7.—
II To hold in equilibrium, to poise, balance:
terra librata ponderibus,Cic. Tusc. 5, 24, 69:
columnarum turbines ita librati perpenderunt, ut puero circumagente tornarentur,Plin. 36, 13, 19, § 91:
librati pondera caeli orbe tene medio,Luc. 1, 58.—
B To cause to hang or swing, to keep suspended, keep in its place:
vela cadunt primo et dubia librantur ab aura,are waved to and fro, Ov. F. 3, 585:
et fluctus supra, vento librante, pependit,Sil. 17, 274:
aëris vi suspensam librari medio spatio tellurem,Plin. 2, 5, 4, § 10.—
C To cause to swing, to swing, sway, brandish, set in motion, hurl, dash, cast, launch, fling, throw:
summā telum librabat ab aure,Verg. A. 9, 417:
ferro praefixum robur,id. ib. 10, 479:
caestus,id. ib. 5, 478:
tum librat ab aure intorquens jaculum,Sil. 5, 576:
dextra libratum fulmen ab aure misit,Ov. M. 2, 311; 5, 624; 7, 787; Luc. 3, 433:
librata cum sederit glans,Liv. 38, 29: librare se, to balance or poise one's self, to fly:
cursum in aëre,Ov. Am. 2, 6, 11: saepe lapillos Tollunt;
his sese per inania nubila librant,Verg. G. 4, 196:
haliaeetos librans ex alto sese,Plin. 10, 3, 3, § 8:
corpus in herba,to stretch one's self out on the grass, Ov. F. 1, 429: incidentis manus libratur artifici temperamento, Plin. 12, 25, 54, § 115:
librare iter,to take one's way, Sen. Oed. 899.—
III Trop.
A To make of even weight, to balance, make equal (poet.):
orbem horis,Col. 10, 42:
crimina in antithetis,Pers. 1, 85.—
B To weigh, ponder, consider (poet. and in post-class. prose):
librabat metus,Stat. Th. 9, 165: quae omnia meritorum momenta perpendit, librat, examinat, Naz. Pan. ad Const. 7: praescriptiones, Cod. Th. 8, 4, 26.— Hence, lībrātus, a, um, P. a.
A Level, horizontal:
aquam non esse libratam, sed sphaeroides habere schema,Vitr. 8, 6.—
B Poised, balanced, swung, hurled, launched; forcible, powerful:
librata cum sederit (glans),Liv. 38, 29:
librato magis et certo ictu,violent, powerful, Tac. H. 2, 22:
malleus dextra libratus ab aure,Ov. M. 2, 624:
per nubes aquila librata volatu,Sil. 15, 429. —Comp.:
libratior ictus,Liv. 30, 10; cf. id. 42, 65.—Hence, * adv.: lībrātē, deliberately:
aliquid eligere,Serv. Verg. A. 2, 713.