debello

dē-bello, āvi, ātum, 1, v. n. and a. (not ante-Aug.; esp. freq. in Livy).

I.

Neutr., to bring a war to an end, to finish a war. So rare in the act. form:

Aulius cum Ferentanis uno secundo proelio debellavit,

Liv. 9, 16; cf. id. Epit. 33; id. 44, 39 fin.; 35, 35. But exceedingly common as an impersonal:

debellari eo die cum Samnitibus potuisse,

Liv. 8, 36; cf. id. 4, 58:

ne absente se debellaretur,

id. 41, 18:

proelioque uno debellatum est,

id. 2, 26; 31, 48 fin. Drak.; cf. id. 7, 28:

debellatum est (erat, etc.),

id. 2, 31; 3, 70; 9, 4 al.:

debellatum foret,

id. 23, 13; Tac. Agr. 26; id. H. 3, 19; Flor. 3, 5, 11 al.:

debellatum iri,

Liv. 29, 14; and in the part. perf. absol. debellato, after the war is ended (freq. in Livy):

eum quasi debellato triumphare,

Liv. 26, 21; so id. 29, 32; 30, 8 al.—

II.

Act. ( poet. and postAug.).

* A.

With a homogeneous object, to fight out:

rixa super mero debellata,

Hor. Od. 1, 18, 8.—

B.

With heterog. object, to conquer completely, to vanquish, subdue:

parcere subjectis et debellare superbos,

Verg. A. 6, 853;

gentem,

id. ib. 5, 731:

hostem clamore,

Tac. Agr. 34:

Darium,

Plin. 6, 13, 16, § 41:

Gallias,

Suet. Ner. 43:

Illyricum,

id. Tib. 17: Indiam, * Ov. M. 4, 605; Vulg. Isa. 7, 1; 63, 10.—

2.

Trop.:

olim fugissemus ex Asia, si nos fabulae debellare potuissent,

Curt. 9, 2, 15:

debellat eos (fungos) et aceti natura,

Plin. 22, 23, 47, § 99.