tear Copy link Outline I. Lit.1. lăcrĭma2. lăcrĭmŭla (dimin. of preced.)3. flētus, ūs (a weeping4. expr. metaph. in the poets by gutta (a drop), imber (a rain-shower), ros (dew), humor (moisture), fons (a fountain), flumen (a stream), aqua (water)II. Fig.1. lăcrĭma2. gutta • tear: I. Lit.: 1. lăcrĭma: briny t.s, salsae l., Lucr. 1, 125: hot t.s, l. tepentes, Tib. 2, 5, 77: calidae, Cels. 6, 6, ad init.: dropping, or fast-falling t.s, l. rorantes, Lucr. 2, 977: senseless and unseasonable t.s, absurdae atque abhorrentes l., Liv. 30, 44: fruitless t.s, l. nihil proficientes, Sen. Cons. ad Poly. 4, 1; inanes, Virg. Aen. 4, 449: "crocodile's t.s," l. confectae dolis, Ter. Andr. 3, 3, 26: cf. "uberibus lacrimis semperque paratis," Juv. 6, 273 (q. v.): to draw t.s, l. movere, Quint. 4, 2, 77; concitare, id. 11, 3, 8; ciere, Virg. Aen. 6, 468; excire (alicui), Tac. A. 11, 2; commovere, Curt. 5, 5, 7, excutere, Ter. Heaut. 1, 1, 115; elicere, Pl. Trin. 2, 2, 13: a man most clever in drawing t.s, vir movendarum l. peritissimus, Plin. Ep. 2, 11: natural relationship wrings t.s from us, l.s exprimit naturalis necessitas, Sen. Ep. 99, 18: to cause one many a t., multas alicui l. afferre, Cic. Att. 12, 13: with t.s standing in her bright eyes, lacrimis oculos suffusa nitentes, Virg. Aen. 1, 228: the t.s long repressed ran down her face, suspensaeque diu l. fluxere per ora, Ov. Am. 1, 7, 57: when t.s long checked gained the mastery and broke forth, cum diu prohibitae l. vincerent prorumperentque, Plin. Ep. 3, 16, 5: t.s start to my eyes for joy, prae laetitia l. prosiliunt, Pl. Stich. 3, 2, 13 (praesiliunt, al.): to melt into t.s, lacrimis exstillare, Ter. Ph. 5, 8, 82; fatiscere in lacrimas, Val. Fl. 3, 395: t.s flow of their own accord, l. eunt sua sponte, Sen. Ep. 99, 20: to burst into t.s, ire in lacrimas, Stat. Theb. 11, 193; effundi in lacrimas, Tac. A. 1, 11; or, lacrimis, Virg. Aen. 2, 651; or, ad l., Liv. 44, 31, extr.: on the arrival of her friends t.s came into her eyes, adventu suorum l. obortae, id. 1, 58: to give way to t.s, lacrimis indulgere, Ov. M. 9, 142; se tradere, dare, Cic. Fam. 5, 14, 2; Tusc. 2, 21, 48: t.s run down from my eyes, ex oculis l. descendunt, Pl. Merc. 3, 4, 4: his t.s roll idly down, l. volvuntur inanes, Virg. Aen. 4, 449: t.s flow down, l. fluunt, Ov. M. 2, 364; excidunt, Sen. Ep. 99, 15; decurrunt, id. ib. 63, 1: the man's tears flow like a child's for joy, homini l. cadunt quasi puero gaudio, Ter. Ad. 4, 1, 20: a few t.s trickle down my cheeks, manat rara meas l. per genas, Hor. Od. 4, 1, 34: t.s burst forth in grief or flow through joy, l. erumpunt gaudio aut laetitia manant, Quint. 11, 3, 75: to shed t.s, l. effundere, Cic. Planc. 42, 101; fundere, Virg. Aen. 3, 348; profundere, Cic. Fontei. 17, 38; perfundere, Ov. H. 11, 115; l. dare, Virg. Aen. 4, 370: to shed t.s of joy, l. gaudio effundere, Liv. 27, 19, ad fin.: the marble rock sheds t.s, l. marmora manant, Ov. M. 6, 312: to shed a flood of t.s, vim lacrimarum profundere, Cic. Rep. 6, 14: she bedews the grass with a stream of t.s, humectat lacrimarum gramina rivo, Ov. M. 9, 656: t.s run down her bosom like a river, perque sinum l. fluminis instar eunt, id. H. 8, 62: everything is swimming with t.s, lacrimis omnia plena madent, Tib. 1, 9 (8), 54: Niobe rains t.s, Niobe lacrimas depluit, Prop. 2, 16, 8: to mar the eyes with t.s, lacrimis oculos foedare, Tib. 2, 6, 43: to bathe one s face in t.s, lacrimis vultum lavare, Ov. M. 9, 680; rigare, Virg. Aen. 9, 251; os opplere, Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 65: I am overcome with t.s, conficior lacrimis, Cic. Fam. 14, 4, 1: I cannot speak for t.s, neque prae l. loqui possum, id. Mil. 38, 105: t.s choked her utterance, l. vocem impediere, Ov. M. 13, 745: the shedding of t.s relieves the feelings, l. profusae animum levant, Sen. Ep. 99, 15: to bedew anything with t.s, tingere aliquid lacrimis, Ov. M. 9, 567: to bedew the ashes (of the dead) with the tear due to them, debita spargere l. favillam, Hor. Od. 2, 6, 23: cease to beset my tomb with t.s, desine lacrimis urgere sepulcrum, Prop. 4, 11, 1: to honour with t.s, l. decorare (aliquem), Enn. in Cic. Tusc. 1, 49, 117: let not my death be unhonoured with t.s, mors mea ne careat l., poet. in Cic., ib.; to laugh till the t.s come, usque ad l. ridere, Petr. 57, 1 to gulp down one's tears, l. devorare, Ov. Fast. 4, 845. to repress t.s, l. reprimere, Sen. Ep. 63, 1; sistere, Ov. Fast. 1, 367; supprimere, Albin. 1, 427; continere, Pl. Most. 3, 2, 138; inhibere, Curt. 10, 6, 3: not to repress t.s, l. non tenere, Cic. Verr. 5, 67, 172: who can keep from t.s? quis temperet a l.? Virg. Aen. 2, 8: although our t.s are exhausted our grief remains deeply rooted, consumptis l. tamen haeret dolor, Cic. Phil. 2, 26, 64: to dry the falling t.s, l. siccare cadentes, Prop. 1, 19, 23: to wipe away t.s, l. detergere, Ov. M. 13, 746; abstergere, Curt. 5, 5, 8: to kiss away one's t.s, combibere sicco ore l., Ov. A. A. 2, 326: a t. quickly dries, especially over the misfortunes of another, cito arescit l. praesertim in alienis malis, Cic. Part. Or. 17, 57: t.s dry up, l. exarescunt, Cic. Att. 10, 14, ad init., inarescunt, Quint. 6, 1, 27. Prov.: hence those t.s, "hinc illae l." Ter. Andr. 1, 1, 99. 2. lăcrĭmŭla (dimin. of preced.): to shed t.s copiously, l. ubertim fundere, Catul. 66, 17: a feigned t. which she squeezed out hardly and with much difficulty by rubbing her eyes, falsa l. quam oculos terendo misere vix vi expresserit, Ter. Eun. 1, 1, 22. you might have seen not merely a little t. but many t.s, and weeping, and sobbing, non modo l. sed multas lacrimas et fletum cum singultu videre potuisti, Cic. Planc. 31, 76. 3. flētus, ūs (a weeping: used both in sing. and pl.): fruitless t.s, f. inanes, Virg. G. 4, 375: pious t.s, pii f., Stat. Silv. 5, 1, 32: women's t.s, f. mulierum, Cic. Verr. 4, 21, 47: t.s unaccompanied by words, tacitus f., Liv. 3, 47: t.s and streams that bedew the face, f. et rigantes ora rivi, Plin. 11, 37, 54: with many t.s, multo cum f., Tac. A. 1, 40: to move the people to t.s, f. populo movere, Cic. de Or. 1, 53, 228: Virg. Aen. 4, 439: to be moved to a fresh outburst of t.s, in novos f. excitari, Sen. Ep. 99, 16: to shed a flood of t.s, largos effundere f., Virg. Aen. 2, 271: t.s break forth, f. erumpit, Quint. 6. 2, 7: to bathe one's cheeks with t.s, irrigare fletu genas, Sen. Phoen. 441: offerings bathed with many t.s for a brother's loss, munera fraterno multum manantia f., Catul. 100, 9: to repress one's t.s, f. reprimere, Cic. Rep. 6, 15, init.: comprimere, Stat. Silv. 2, 6, 12: to wipe away one's t.s, f. alicui abstergere, Cic. Phil. 14, 13, 34. 4. expr. metaph. in the poets by gutta (a drop), imber (a rain-shower), ros (dew), humor (moisture), fons (a fountain), flumen (a stream), aqua (water): the t. steals from my eyes, labitur ex oculis gutta meis, Ov. Tr. 1, 3, 4: he bedews his face with large t.-drops, guttis humectat grandibus ora, Virg. Aen. 11, 90 (said of a horse): t.s for a wife, uxorius imber, Stat. Silv. 5, 1, 32: the cheeks are wet with mournful t.s, tristi imbre madent genae, Catul. 68, 56: to bedew her bosom with t.s, spargere imbre sinus, Ov. A. 3, 6, 68: her eyes fill with hot t.s, tepido suffundit lumina rore, id. M. 10, 360: to drop t.s from one's eyes, stillare ex oculis rorem, Hor. A. P. 430: a t. stealthily trickles down my cheeks, humor in genas furtim labitur meas, id. Od. 1, 13, 6: my cheeks are ever wet with t.s, hument fonte perenne genae, Ov. H. 8, 64: he waters his face with a flood of t.s, largo humectat flumine vultum, Virg. Aen. 1, 465: honourable t.s, honoratae aquae, Prop. 4, 11, 102. Phr.: eyes without a t., sicci oculi, Hor. Od. 1, 3, 18: Prop.: myself with t.s in my eyes, ipse madens oculis, Stat. Silv. 5, 3, 58: he began to entreat with t.s, ille lacrimans orare, Sall. Jug. 107: Liv. 3, 46: joy that finds vent in t.s, udum gaudium, Mart. 10, 78, 8: you would have drawn t.s from stones, lapides flere coëgisses, Cic. de Or. 1, 57, 245: smoke that brings t.s into the eyes, lacrimosus fumus, Hor. S. 1, 5, 80: war that costs many t.s, lacrimosum bellum, id. Od. 1, 21, 13: nothing worthy of t.s, nil lacrimabile, Ov. M. 2, 796: he died worthy of the t.s of many a good man, multis ille bonis flebilis occidit, Hor. Od. 1, 24, 9: Pluto, who cannot be moved by t.s, Pluto illacrimabilis, id. ib. 2, 14, 6: ghosts for whom no t. is shed, animae indefletae, Ov. M. 7, 611. II. Fig.: (applied to inanimate objects:) 1. lăcrĭma: the t.s of trees, l. arborum, Plin. 11, 6, 5: the t.s of vines, l. vitium, id. 23, praef., § 3: cf. Ov. A. A. 1, 283. 2. gutta: Lucr. 1, 349: Ov. M. 10, 500: v. drop, weep.