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Gallia est omnis dīvīsa in partēs trēs, quārum ūnam incolunt Belgae.

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Contents (3 entries · 9 senses)
S&H Smith & Hall (1)
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Source & Attribution
Digitized by Distributed Proofreaders from William Smith and Theophilus D. Hall, A Copious and Critical English-Latin Dictionary (1871), and generously placed into the public domain.
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Outline
    1. I. In sentences not interrogative:
      1. 1. aut, usu. following another aut; = either ... or: a preceding aut is not found when what follows is rather an afterthought than an alternative primarily entertained: cf. Cels. 1, 2, exercitationis plerumque finis esse debet sudor, aut certe lassitudo, a perspiration; or, at least, fatigue: add Cic. Div. 2, 26, init. Sometimes aut = or else; when a sudden turn is given to the discourse: cf. Cic. de Or. 2, 2, 5, omnia ... bene ei sunt dicenda, qui hoc se posse profitetur, aut eloquentiae nomen relinquendum est, or else he must abandon, etc.
      2. 2. vĕl, freq. following another vel; = whether ... or: denoting not, as aut usually does, a distinct alternative, but rather one which is compatible with the former one: L. G. § 570. -ve is simply an abbreviated form of vel, being used enclitically: L. G. § 570, Obs. 2.
      3. 3. sīve (seu): both with and without an antecedent sive (seu): usually indicating an indifference between two alternatives: v. whether. [Kr. thus sums up the uses of the above:--The particle aut distinguishes objects or sentences, which are either actually opposed, or at least regarded as quite different: vel indicates that it is, in the given case, indifferent which of the objects or predications is accepted; whether they differ or not in themselves being another question: -ve distinguishes mostly single words, less frequently sentences; and denotes a less important verbal or real difference: sive is used (1) when an option is given between two or more names or predicates of the same thing; and (2) when the writer, himself hesitating between two or more causes, conditions, etc., leaves the reader to accept which alternative he chooses.]
    2. II. In interrogative sentences:
      1. 1. ăn, following utrum or -ne in the former part of the double question: is it money that makes you prouder, or (the fact) that the commander consults you? utrum te superbiorem pecunia facit, an quod te imperator consulit? Cic. Fam. 7, 13: am I to go to Rome, or stay here? Romamne venio, an hic maneo? id. Att. 16, 8: sometimes, esp. in dependent questions, the antecedent whether is not expressed: shall I speak out or hold my peace? eloquar an sileam? Virg. Aen. 3, 39: to doubt whether anything be right or wrong, dubitare aequum sit quicquam an iniquum, Cic. Off. 1, 9, fin.
      2. 2. -nĕ (infreq.): it was uncertain whether they had conquered or been conquered, incertum fuit vicerint, victine essent, Liv. 5, 28, med.: Nep. Esp. in the expr., or no, necne: v. infr. (4, 2).
      3. 3. pleonastically, annĕ (infreq.) to ask whether there are few or many, interrogare pauca sint anne multa, Cic. Ac. 2, 29, 93.
      4. 4. expr. or not, or no, by (1). annon (or as two words): is it the person I am in search of or not? isne est quem quaero annon? Ter. Ph. 5, 6, 12: Cic. (2). less freq. necnĕ (in questions expressed by whether ... or no): the question arises, whether or no there are gods, quaeritur sintne dii necne sint. Cic. N. D. 1, 22, 61: also without the verb being repeated: whether battle could be advantageously joined or no, utrum proelium committi ex usu esset, necne, Caes. B. G. 1, 50. (N.B.--Never aut in questions.)
R&A Riddle & Arnold (2)
Source
Source & Attribution
J. E. Riddle and T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English-Latin Lexicon. Data retrieved from FergusJPWalsh/riddle-arnold under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
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• EITHER, OR
aut - aut: vel - vel: sive (seu) - sive (seu). Obs. (1) Aut is objective, and refers to a real difference in the things or notions themselves: vel is subjective, and relates to a difference between them as contemplated by the mind of the person who is speaking or acting about them; aut - aut, therefore, should be used when things are strongly opposed in their own nature, aut dives aut pauper; aut frigus aut calor; aut Cic., aut Pompeius, etc. Aut - aut should also be used in the sense of either, or at least [aut in omni, aut in magna parte vitae, Cic., Tusc., 3, 17, 28]. Aut - aut may stand in interrogative and comparative sentences, and may follow negatives. (2) Vel - vel. In aut - aut the members necessarily exclude each other; in vel - vel they only exclude each other arbitrarily, according to the view of the speaker, and it is not implied that they might not possibly coexist. Vel - vel sometimes approaches to the meaning of sive - sive; i. e., the speaker conceives the things as different indeed, but not essentially, so that it is immaterial which is taken: pace vel Quirini vel Romuli dixerim. The second vel may be strengthened by etiam, vero etiam, or omnino. (3) Sive - sive is the “either - or” of indifference, the speaker leaving it undecided, from ignorance or any other motive, which name, supposition, etc., is the correct one; e.g., sive casu, sive consilio: sive felicitate quadam, sive bonitate naturae, etc. In the best prose, especially in Cic., sive - sive is used; with the exception, however, of Caes., who has often seu - seu. In post-Augustan writers, we have also sive - seu, or seu - sive. The second sive may be strengthened by etiam. (4) After negatives, the usual way of translating “either - or” is by (neque) - neque; e.g., nemo unquam neque poeta neque orator fuit; nihil loci est neque segnitiae neque socordiae [Vid: end of Obs. 1, on aut]. Not either - or, neque (nec) - neque (nec). Either - or even, aut - aut etiam, aut - aut vero (the second being the stronger supposition): vel - vel etiam; vel etiam vero; vel omnino. ☞ The aut or vel may be repeated three or more times. The first aut may also be omitted, just as in English; we must (either) conquer or die, hic (aut) vincendum, aut moriendum milites.
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  • aut; vel; ve (enclitic): sive (or seu; rare in Cic.; common in poets and later prose writers). ☞ Aut stands in disjunctive sentences when one clause is entirely opposed to the other; vel when the opposition is only partial; ve is usually connected with single words, not with clauses, denoting reciprocal exclusion; sive, seu, or si, with vel, implies a condition, and sometimes denotes a difference merely in name or in the form of expression; e.g., audendum est aliquid universis, aut omnia singulis patienda (Liv., 6, 18); de nostris rebus satis, vel etiam nimium multa (Cic., Fam., 4, 14, 3); non sentiunt viri fortes in acie vulnera; vel, si sentiunt, se mori malunt (Cic., Tusc. 2, 24, 58); esse dico ea quae cerni tangive possunt (Cic.); Minerva sive Tritonia. We may say that aut distinguishes, vel co-ordinates, sive denotes synonymes, ve is a milder vel. Aut distinguishes things and expressions which are diametrically opposed to each other, or, at least are considered as widely different; vel implies that it is indifferent which of several things takes place, or which of several propositions is affirmed; it matters not whether they be different or alike; vel, for the most part, distinguishes only single words, more rarely whole clauses; and when it does so, it implies only a slight or nominal distinction: sive is used, (1) when, with reference to one and the same subject, a choice is given between several names and predicates; or (2) when a speaker or writer, himself in doubt or suspense, leaves the choice with the hearer or reader.
  • In interrogative sentences (whether)... or; utrum... an (or anne or ne): num... an: ne (enclitic)... an (seldom ne... ne, as Caes., B.G., 7, 14); e.g., utrum ignorant dii, quae res maximae sint, an vim non habent qua tantas res sustineant et gerant? (Cic., N.D., 2, 30, 77): quaeritur unusne mundus sit, an plures? (Cic., Div., 2, 4, 11). Or not? necne; an non; e.g., dii utrum sint, necne sint, quaeritur? (Cic., N.D., 3, 7, 17): fiat necne fiat id quaeritur? (Cic., Div., 1, 39, 86): roga velitne uxorem an non? (Ter., Hec., 4, 1, 43). ☞ Necne is used mostly in indirect questions, and generally without a verb; annon, for the most part, in direct questions, with or without a verb. Either - or, aut - aut; vel - vel; sive - sive; or seu - seu: ☞ sive - sive usually with the indicative, unless the sense requires a subjunctive. More under WHETHER.