• bōs,
bŏvis (
prob. orig. form of
nom. bŏ-vis,
like bovare for boare,
Petr. 62, 13;
cf. Varr L. L. 8, § 74 Müll., where,
acc. to Cod. B., the read. should be: nunc in consuetudine aliter dicere pro Jovis Juppiter, pro Bovis Bos, pro Strus Strues.—Hence,
gen. plur. bŏvĕrum,
Cato, R. R. 62 Schneid.
N. cr.; cf. Varr. L. L. l. l.: alios dicere Boum greges, alios Boverum; v. Juppiter, nux, rex, sus, and Schne
id. Gr. 2, p. 171.— Regular
gen. boum very
freq.;
uncontracted form bovum, Cic. Rep. 2, 9, 16 Halm; Cod. Sang. Colum. 6, 17, 6; 6, 37, 11, and Cod. Reg.
ib. 6, 38, 4;
cf. Prisc. p. 773 P.—
Dat. plur. contr. bōbus,
Hor. C. 3, 6, 43;
id. C. S. 49;
id. Epod. 2, 3;
Cic. N. D. 2, 63, 159, twice;
cf. Prisc. p. 773 sq. P.; but more
freq. and
class. būbus, even
Cato, R. R. 6, 3;
54, 1;
54, 60; 54, 70; 54, 73;
once bŭbŭs, Aus. Epigr. 62, 2;
cf. on the other hand, Serv. ad Verg. E. 8, 86.—Exs. of the uncontracted form bovibus are entirely. wanting; v. Neue, Formenl. 1, 280
sqq.; 1, 289),
comm.; generally
masc. in prose (hence, femina bos,
Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 17;
Liv. 25, 12, 13;
27, 37, 11;
Col. 6, 24, 3;
Plin. 8, 46, 71, § 186;
Tac. G. 40) [from the root bo-,
prop. the roaring,
kindr. with
Gr. βοῦς, βῶς; Sanscr. gō, gu].
- I. An ox, a bull, a cow; described by Plin. 8, 45, 70, § 176 sq.; Cato, R. R. 70 sq.; Varr. R. R. 1, 20, 1; 2, 1, 12 sq.; 2, 5, 7.—In gen.: quia boves bini hic sunt in crumenā, i. e. the price of them, Plaut. Pers. 2, 5, 16: Olympiae per stadium ingressus esse Milo dicitur, cum umeris sustineret bovem, Cic. Sen. 10, 33: consimili ratione venit bubus quoque saepe Pestilitas, Lucr. 6, 1131: quae cura boum, qui cultus habendo Sit pecori, Verg. G. 1, 3: bos est enectus arando, Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 87; Verg. G. 3, 50 sq.; Col. lib. 6; Pall. Mart. 11, 1 sq.—In fem.: actae boves, Liv. 1, 7, 6: bove eximiā captā de grege, id. 1, 7, 12; Ov. M. 8, 873; so, torva, Verg. G. 3, 52: cruda, Hor. Epod. 8, 6: intactae, id. ib. 9, 22: formosa, Ov. M. 1, 612: incustoditae, id. ib. 2, 684: vidisti si quas Boves, id. ib. 2, 700: forda, fecunda, id. F. 4, 630 and 631 al. —Prov.: bovi clitellas imponere, to put a pack - saddle upon an ox, i. e. to assign one a duty for which he is not qualified, old Poët. ap. Cic. Att. 5, 15, 3 (in the form non nostrum onus: bos clitellas (sc. portabat), Quint. 5, 11, 21 Spald.); cf.: optat ephippia bos, piger optat arare caballus, Hor. Ep. 1, 14, 43; and Amm. 16, 5, 10.—Humorously, for a whip cut from neat's leather, a raw hide: ubi vivos homines mortui incursant boves, Plaut. As. 1, 1, 20: bos Lucas, the elephant; v. Lucani, D.—
- II. A kind of sea-fish of the genus of the turbot, Plin. 9, 24, 40, § 78; Ov. Hal. 94; cf. Plin. 32, 11, 54, § 152.