tandem — Lewis & Short
tandem, adv.tam and the demonstr. termination dem; prop. just so far; hence, transf. to time, after so long, after a long time, implying the end of long delay or expectation,
I at length, at last, in the end, finally (cf.: denique, postremo).
I Lit.
A In gen.
1 Alone: Juppiter tibi summe tandem male re gestā gratulor, Enn. ap. Non. 116, 29 (Trag. v. 242 Vahl.):
ne navigarem tandem hoc aetatis senex,Plaut. Bacch. 2, 3, 109:
haec illic est pugnata pugna usque a mane ad vesperum ... Sed proelium id tandem diremit nox interventu suo,id. Am. 1, 1, 99:
tandem cognosti, qui siem,Ter. And. 3, 4, 7:
tandem reprime iracundiam,id. Ad. 5, 3, 8:
quod si animi vis in capite esse posset ... soleret tandem in eodem homine manere,in the end, after all, Lucr. 5, 137:
tandem vulneribus defessi pedem referre coeperunt,Caes. B. G. 1, 25:
tandem milites conscendere in naves jubet,id. ib. 5, 7;
7, 67: tandem desine sequi,Hor. C. 1, 23, 11; 3, 15, 2; id. S. 2, 5, 68:
finiat ut poenas tandem rogat,Ov. M. 1, 735; Curt. 6, 7, 12.—
2 Strengthened,
(a) By jam:
jam tandem aedes igitur,Plaut. Mil. 4, 2, 39 Brix; cf. Cic. Agr. 2, 37, 103:
jam tandem Italiae fugientis prendimus oras,Verg. A. 6, 61; so id. ib. 10, 890;
12, 497 (cf.: jam denique,id. ib. 2, 70.—
(b) By aliquando:
aliquando tandem huc animum ut adjungas tuum,Ter. Hec. 4, 4, 61; cf.:
tandem aliquando L. Catilinam ... ex urbe ejecimus,Cic. Cat. 2, 1, 1; so,
tandem aliquando,id. ib. 1, 7, 18; id. Quint. 30, 94; id. Fam. 11, 27, 5; 16, 9, 4; v. aliquando.—
(g) Pleon., with denique:
tandem denique asinali verecundiā ductus,App. M. 4, p. 153, 3; so,
tandem denique,id. ib. 3, p. 138, 39; 10, p. 245, 16; cf.:
recreatus denique tandem,Amm. 17, 12, 10.—
B In partic., in interrogative clauses, pray, pray now, now, then: quid tandem, what in the world, etc. (very freq. in class. prose):
quid tandem admisi in me, ut loqui non audeam?Plaut. Men. 5, 1, 12: quid tandem agebatis, Cic. Rep. 1, 13, 19:
quae res tandem inciderat?id. ib. 1, 11, 17:
quod genus tandem est istud ostentationis et gloriae?id. Roab. Post. 14, 38; id. Leg. 1, 1, 1; cf.:
quonam tandem modo?id. Tusc. 3, 4, 8; id. Part. Or. 4, 12; id. Fin. 2, 19, 60:
(id) quo tandem animo tibi ferendum putas?id. Cat. 1, 7, 16:
hoc, per ipsos deos, quale tandem est?id. N. D. 1, 38, 105:
quanto tandem illum moerore afflictum esse putatis?id. Cat. 2, 1, 2:
quorsum tandem? aut cur ista quaeris?id. Leg. 1, 1, 4:
quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientiā nostrā?id. Cat. 1, 1, 1:
quae quousque tandem patiemini?Sall. C. 20, 9; Cic. Caecin. 17, 48; so,
utrum tandem ... an,id. Fl. 10, 24:
scis Quo tandem pacto deceat, etc.,Hor. Ep. 1, 17, 2:
ain' tandem ita esse ut dicis?Plaut. Aul. 2, 4, 19; so,
ain' tandem?id. Trin. 4, 2, 145; id. Truc. 2, 7, 47; Ter. And. 5, 3, 4; id. Phorm. 2, 3, 26; Cic. Rep. 1, 15, 23; id. Att. 9, 21, 1:
itane aiebat tandem?Plaut. Mil. 1, 66; so,
itane tandem?id. Trin. 3, 2, 16; Ter. And. 3, 2, 12; id. Heaut. 5, 2, 1; id. Phorm. 2, 1, 1; 3, 2, 42. —
II Transf., for denique, finally, to mark the final clause of a series (very rare), Quint. 12, 1, 25.