mordeo

mordĕo, mŏmordi (archaic memordi; v. in the foll.), morsum, 2, v. a. [root smard-; Sanscr. mard-, bite; Gr. smerdnos, smerdaleos; (cf. Engl. smart)], to bite, to bite into (class.).

I.

Lit.: si me canis memorderit, Enn. ap. Gell. 7, 9, 3 (Sat. v. 36 Vahl.):

canes mordere possunt,

Cic. Rosc. Am. 20, 57:

mordens pulex,

biting, Mart. 14, 83:

(serpens) fixum hastile momordit,

bit into, Ov. M. 3, 68:

mordeat ante aliquis quidquid, etc.,

taste, Juv. 6, 632: terram, to bite the ground, bite the dust, of expiring warriors writhing on the ground:

procubuit moriens et humum semel ore momordit,

Verg. A. 11, 418; Ov. M. 9, 61.—Part. as subst.:

morsi a rabioso cane,

Plin. 29, 5, 32, § 100:

laneaque aridulis haerebant morsa labellis,

Cat. 64, 316.—

2.

In partic., to eat, devour, consume ( poet. ):

tunicatum cum sale mordens Caepe,

Pers. 4, 30:

ostrea,

Juv. 6, 305:

sordes farris mordere canini,

id. 5, 11.—

B.

Transf.

1.

To bite into, take fast hold of, catch fast; to press or cut into ( poet. ):

laterum juncturas fibula mordet,

takes hold of, clasps, Verg. A. 12, 274:

mordebat fibula vestem,

Ov. M. 8, 318:

id quod a lino mordetur,

where the thread presses in, Cels. 7, 4, 4:

locus (corporis), qui mucronem (teli) momordit,

id. 7, 5, 4:

arbor mordet humum,

takes hold of the ground, is rooted in the ground, Stat. Th. 9, 499.—Hence, poet., of a river: non rura quae Liris quieta Mordet aqua, cuts or penetrates into, Hor. C. 1, 31, 7.—

2.

To nip, bite, sting:

matutina parum cautos jam frigora mordent,

nips, attacks, Hor. S. 2, 6, 45: oleamque momorderit [p. 1165] aestus, id. Ep. 1, 8, 5:

mordeat et tenerum fortior aura nemus,

Mart. 8, 14, 2:

radix gustu acri mordet,

bites, hurts, Plin. 27, 13, 109, § 133:

linguam,

id. 29, 2, 9, § 34:

oculos,

id. 21, 6, 17, § 32:

urtica foliis non mordentibus,

stinging, burning, id. 22, 14, 16, § 37.—

II.

Trop., to bite, sting, pain, hurt (syn.: pungo, stimulo, remordeo;

class.): invidere omnes mihi, Mordere clanculum,

bit, stung, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 21:

morderi dictis,

Ov. Tr. 1, 1, 25:

jocus mordens,

a biting jest, Juv. 9, 10:

mordear opprobriis falsis,

shall I be stung, vexed, Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 38:

par pari referto, quod eam mordeat,

to vex, mortify, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 55:

valde me momorderunt epistolae tuae,

Cic. Att. 13, 12, 1:

scribis, morderi te interdum, quod non simul sis,

that it grieves you, affects you, id. ib. 6, 2, 8:

dolore occulto morderi,

to be attacked, tormented, Ov. M. 2, 806:

nec qui detrectat praesentia, Livor iniquo Ullum de nostris dente momordit opus,

detracted, id. Tr. 4, 10, 124; cf. id. P. 4, 14, 46:

morderi conscientiā,

to feel the sting of conscience, Cic. Tusc. 4, 20, 45:

hunc mordebit objurgatio,

Quint. 1, 3, 7.—

B.

To seize fast, hold firmly in the mind (cf. mordicus, II.):

hoc tene, hoc morde,

Sen. Ep. 78, 29. —

C.

To squander, dissipate: de integro patrimonio meo centum milia nummūm memordi, Laber. ap. Gell. 6, 9, 3 (Com. Rel. v. 50 Rib.).