orbis

orbis, is (nom. orbs, Ven. Carm. 8, 5. — Abl. regul. orbe;

but orbi,

Lucr. 5, 74:

ex orbi,

Varr. R. R. 3, 5, 16; Rutil. ap. Charis. p. 112 P.: orbi terrae, in the meaning in the world, Cic. Sest. 30, 66; so,

orbi terrarum,

id. Verr. 2, 4, 38, § 82 Halm; id. Dom. 10, 24; id. Fragm. ap. Charis. p. 112 P.), m. [etym. dub.; perh. akin to Sanscr. dhvar, bend, twist], any thing of a circular shape, a ring, round surface, disk, hoop, orbit, orb, a circle (class.; cf.: circus, circulus, gyrus, spira).

I.

Lit.:

in orbem torquere,

Cic. Univ. 7:

curvare aliquid in orbem,

Ov. M. 2, 715:

certumque equitavit in orbem,

id. ib. 12, 468.—Of a ring:

et digitum justo commodus orbe teras,

fit exactly, Ov. Am. 2, 15, 6:

unionum,

roundness, Plin. 9, 35, 56, § 113.—Of a circle formed by men:

ut in orbem consisterent,

place themselves in a circle, form a circle, Caes. B. G. 5, 33:

cum illi, orbe facto, se defenderent,

id. ib. 4, 37:

orbem volventes suos increpans,

Liv. 4, 28:

in orbem pugnare,

id. 28, 22, 15:

in orbem sese stantibus equis defendere,

id. 28, 33, 15: stella (phaethôn) eundem duodecim signorum orbem annis duodecim conficit, the zodiac, Cic. N. D. 2, 20, 52:

lacteus,

the Milky Way, id. Rep. 6, 16, 16.—Of the orbit of a heavenly body:

sidera circulos suos orbesque conficiunt,

Cic. Rep. 6, 15, 15.—Of a serpent, the windings, coils:

immensis orbibus angues Incumbunt pelago,

Verg. A. 2, 204.—Of a circular surface or disk:

orbis mensae,

a round table-top, Ov. H. 17, 87; cf. Juv. 11, 122.—Also, simply orbes, a round table, Mart. 2, 43; Juv. 1, 137.—Of a quoit or discus:

ictus ab orbe,

Ov. Ib. 590.—Of the scale of a balance:

instabilis natat alterno depressior orbe,

Tib. 4, 1, 44.—Of a mirror:

addidit et nitidum sacratis crinibus orbem,

Mart. 9, 18, 5.—Of a shield:

illa (hasta) per orbem Aere cavum triplici... Transiit,

Verg. A. 10, 783; Petr. 89.—Of a mosaic pavement of rounded pieces [p. 1276] of marble, Juv. 11, 175.—Of a scale, one side of a balance, Tib. 4, 1, 44.—Of the millstones of an oil-mill, Cato, R. R. 22.—Of the wooden disk placed over olives in pressing them, Cato, R. R. 18.—Of the hoop or tire of a wheel:

rotarum orbes circumacti,

Plin. 8, 16, 19, § 52.—Of the wheel itself:

undaque jam tergo ferratos sustinet orbes,

Verg. G. 3, 361.—Hence, the wheel of fortune, Tib. 1, 5, 70; Ov. Tr. 5, 8, 7; id. P. 2, 3, 56.—Of the socket of the eye:

inanem luminis orbem,

Ov. M. 14, 200.—Of the eye itself:

gemino lumen ab orbe venit,

Ov. Am. 1, 8, 16:

ardentes oculorum orbes ad moenia torsit,

Verg. A. 12, 670.—Of the sun's disk or orb:

lucidus orbis,

Verg. G. 1, 459.—Of the moon's disk or orb:

quater junctis implevit cornibus orbem Luna, quater plenum tenuata retexuit orbem,

Ov. M. 7, 530.—Of the circle of the world, the world, the universe:

Juppiter arce suā totum cum spectet in orbem,

Ov. F. 1, 85:

renatus,

the new-born day, Sil. 5, 56: terrarum or terrae, the circle or orb of the earth, the world (since the ancients regarded the earth as a circular plane or disk):

permittitur infinita potestas orbis terrarum,

Cic. Agr. 2, 13, 33:

ager Campanus orbis terrae pulcherrimus,

id. ib. 2, 28, 76; id. Sest. 30, 66:

cunctus ob Italiam terrarum clauditur orbis?

Verg. A. 1, 233; cf. id. ib. 7, 224.—Also, simply orbis (so mostly poet. ):

hic, ubi nunc Roma est orbis caput, arbor et herbae,

Ov. F. 5, 93:

unus,

Juv. 10, 168; 4, 148:

universus,

Vulg. Luc. 2, 1; id. Apoc. 12, 9.—Hence, a country, region, territory:

Eoo dives ab orbe redit,

the East, Ov. F. 3, 466:

Assyrius,

Juv. 2, 108:

noster,

Plin. 12, 12, 26, § 45.— A kind of fish, Plin. 32, 2, 5, § 14 Sillig; cf. Isid. Orig. 12, 6, 6.—

II.

Trop., a circle.

A.

Of things that return at a certain period of time, a rotation, round, circuit:

ut idem in singulos annos orbis volveretur,

Liv. 3, 10:

insigne regium in orbem per omnes iret,

in rotation, id. 3, 36:

orbis hic in re publicā est conversus,

the circle of political changes, Cic. Att. 2, 9, 1.—

B.

Orbis doctrinae, an encyclopœdia: orbis ille doctrinae quam Graeci enkuklion paideian vocant, Quint. 1, 10, 1.—

C.

Of speech, a rounding off, roundness, rotundity:

circuitum, et quasi orbem verborum conficere,

Cic. de Or. 3, 51, 198:

orationis,

id. Or. 71, 234:

historia non tam finitos numeros quam orbem quendam contextumque desiderat,

Quint. 9, 4, 129.—

D.

A circle or cycle of thought:

sententiae Pyrrhonis in hunc orbem quem circumscripsimus, incidere non possunt,

Cic. Fin. 5, 8, 23; cf.:

circa vilem patulumque orbem,

Hor. A. P. 132.—

E.

Esp.: in orbem ire, to go the rounds, go around:

quinque dierum spatio finiebatur imperium ac per omnes in orbem ibant,

in turn, Liv. 1, 17, 6; 3, 36, 3.