1. ordĭor — Lewis & Short
ordĭor, orsus, 4 (
I fut. ordibor for ordiar: non parvam rem ordibor, Att. ap. Non. 39, 22; part. perf. orditus, Sid. Ep. 2, 9; Vulg. Isa. 25, 7), v. dep., lit., to begin a web, to lay the warp; hence, also, in gen., to begin, undertake a thing:
ordiri est rei principium facere, unde et togae vocantur exordiae,Fest. p. 185 Müll.; cf. Isid. 19, 29, 7:
telam,Hier. in Isa. 9, 30, v. 1; Vulg. Isa. 25, 7.
I Lit., to begin to weave a web, to weave, spin:
araneus orditur telas,Plin. 11, 24, 28, § 80.—So of the Fates:
Lachesis plenā orditur manu,Sen. Apoc. 4:
(Parca) hominis vitam orditur,Lact. 2, 10, 20.—
II In gen., to begin, commence, set about, undertake (class.; syn.: incipio, incoho, infit); constr. with acc., de, inf., or absol.
(a) With acc.:
reliquas res,Cic. Fam. 5, 12, 2:
alterius vitae quoddam initium ordimur,id. Att. 4, 1:
reliquos,to relate, describe, Nep. Alc. 11, 6:
querelae ab initio tantae ordiendae rei absint. Liv. praef. § 12: majorem orsa furorem,Verg. A. 7, 386.—
(b) With de:
paulo altius de re ordiri,Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 47, § 105.—
(g) With inf.:
ea, de quā disputare ordimur,Cic. Brut. 6, 22:
cum adulescens orsus esset in foro dicere,id. ib. 88, 301:
cum sic orsa loqui vates,Verg. A. 6, 125:
et orsa est Dicere Leuconoë,Ov. M. 4, 167:
tunc sic orsa loqui,id. ib. 4, 320.—
(d) Absol., to begin, commence, set out, take or have a beginning:
unde est orsa, in eodem terminetur oratio,Cic. Marcell. 11, 33: Veneris contra sic filius orsus, thus began (to speak), Verg. A. 1, 325:
sic Juppiter orsus,id. ib. 12, 806; so commonly with specification of the point from which:
unde ordiri rectius possumus quam a naturā?Cic. Tusc. 5, 13, 37 init.:
a principio,id. Phil. 2, 18, 44:
a facillimis,id. Fin. 1, 5, 13:
a capite,Plin. 25, 11, 83, § 132.—(e) Of things or subjects, to begin, to be begun (where the verb may be taken in pass. sense):
tormina ab atrā bile orsa mortifera sunt,Cels. 2, 8:
cum ex depressiore loco fuerint orsa fundamenta,Col. 1, 5, 9: sed ab initio est ordiendus (Themistocles), i. e. I must begin (his life) at the beginning, Nep. Them. 1, 2; cf.:
ab eo nobis causa ordienda est,Cic. Leg. 1, 7, 21.