answer (v.) Copy link Outline I. To speak or write with reference to what has previously been spoken or written1. respondĕo, di, sum, 22. rescrībo, scripsi, scriptum, 3 (only of written answers3. rĕfĕro, tŭli, lātum, 3 (rare)II. To correspond toIII. To operate or succeed agreeably to our expectationsIV. To pay, satisfy; q. v. Phr.V. To solve; q. v. • answer (v.): I. To speak or write with reference to what has previously been spoken or written: 1. respondĕo, di, sum, 2: (of both speaking and writing: with dat. of person; acc. of thing, with ad): to a. questions, ad interrogata r., Cic.: I will a. you point by point, ego tibi respondebo ad singula, Cic.: Aelius a.'d the speech, orationi respondit Aelius, Cic.: to a. a person who asks for one's advice on a point of law, de jure consulenti r., Cic.: I will first a. your last page, respondebo primum postremae tuae paginae, Cic.: to a. arguments, argumentis r., Cic.: he a.'d the ambassadors that he would take time to deliberate, legatis respondit diem se ad deliberandum sumpturum, Caes.: also absol.: they often do not a. at the time, saepe non respondent ad tempus, Cic.: I rose to a., ad respondendum surrexi, Cic.: I will a. for Brutus, (i. e. as his representative), pro Bruto respondebo, Cic.: no one a.'d to his name, ad nomen nemo respondebat, Liv.: they a.'d that the Rhine was the boundary of the Roman empire, responderunt populi R. imperium Rhenum finire, Caes. 2. rescrībo, scripsi, scriptum, 3 (only of written answers: with ad or dat.): in this letter I have a.'d that which I had received, his literis ad eas rescripsi quas acceperam, Cic.: a letter from Pompey was delivered to me; I immediately a.'d him, redditae mihi literae sunt a Pompeio: ei statim rescripsi, Cic. 3. rĕfĕro, tŭli, lātum, 3 (rare): to a. a plea, defensioni r., Cic.: I a. you, tibi refero, Cic.: Anna a.s, A. refert, Virg.: v. to reply. II. To correspond to: respondĕo, 2: your good qualities a. the expectation of men, tua virtus opinioni hominum r., Cic.: our good will towards our friends fully a.s their good will towards us, nostra in amicos benevolentia illorum erga nos benevolentiae pariter aequaliterque r., Cic.: v. to correspond, agree. III. To operate or succeed agreeably to our expectations: respondeo: the double vine does not a. well, except in rich soil, gemella vitis non respondet, nisi in praepingui solo, Col.: vines a. better (when propagated by) the layer, melius propagine vites r., Virg.: so of remedies which a. their purpose: Cels.: v. to succeed. IV. To pay, satisfy; q. v. Phr.: the fire of our ships a.'d that of the enemy, *a nostris acriter est responsum telis ex hostium navibus conjectis: the ship having been drawn into the whirlpools did not a. its helm, vorticibus intorta navis gubernaculi impatiens erat, Curt. V. To solve; q. v.: creditoribus satisfacere.