tenta

tendo ( tenno ), tĕtendi, tentum and tensum, 3, v. a. and n. [root ten-, tan, v. teneo; cf. Gr. teinô].

I.

Act., to stretch, stretch out, distend, extend, etc. (class.; cf.: extendo, explico).

A.

Lit.

1.

In gen.:

suntne igitur insidiae, tendere plagas?

Cic. Off. 3, 17, 68:

plagam, Pac. ap. Fest. s. v. nequitum, p. 162 Müll.: quia non rete accipitri tennitur,

Ter. Phorm. 2, 2, 16 sq.; cf.:

retia (alicui),

Prop. 2, 32 (3, 30), 20; Hor. Epod. 2, 33; Ov. M. 4, 513; 7, 701; 8, 331 al.:

casses alicui,

Tib. 1, 6, 5:

intumescit collum, nervi tenduntur,

Col. 6, 14, 4:

chordam,

Plaut. Most. 3, 2, 55:

arcum,

to bend, Verg. A. 7, 164; Hor. C. 2, 10, 20; Ov. M. 2, 604; 5, 55; 5, 63; Stat. S. 3, 1, 51.—Hence, poet. transf.:

sagittas Arcu,

to shoot, hurl, Hor. C. 1, 29, 9; cf.:

spicula cornu,

Verg. A. 9, 606:

pariterque oculos telumque,

id. ib. 5, 508:

barbiton,

to tune, Hor. C. 1, 1, 34; cf.:

tympana tenta tonant palmis,

Lucr. 2, 618:

validā lora manu,

Ov. Am. 3, 2, 72:

vela (Noti),

to swell, Verg. A. 3, 268:

praecipiti carbasa tenta Noto,

Ov. H. 10, 30:

praetorium,

to stretch out, pitch, Caes. B. C. 3, 82: pelles in ordine tentae, Lucil. ap. Non. 181, 30:

conopia,

Prop. 3, 11 (4, 10), 45: grabatos restibus, Lucil. ap. Non. 181, 29:

cubilia,

Hor. Epod. 12, 12: manus ad caeli caerula templa, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 51 Vahl.); so, manus ad caelum, Caes. B. C. 2, 5; Verg. A. 3, 176:

bracchia ad caelum,

Ov. M. 6, 279; 9, 293;

for which: bracchia caelo,

id. ib. 2, 580;

9, 210: ad legatos atque exercitum supplices manus tendunt,

Caes. B. C. 2, 12; so,

manus ad aliquem,

id. B. G. 2, 13:

ad sidera palmas,

Verg. A. 1, 93:

super aequora palmas,

Ov. M. 8, 849:

ad aliquem orantia bracchia,

id. P. 2, 9, 65:

manus supplices dis immortalibus,

Cic. Font. 17, 48; cf.:

vobis supplex manus tendit patria communis,

id. Cat. 4, 9, 18; so,

manus alicui,

Caes. B. G. 7, 48; Ov. M. 3, 723; id. H. 10, 146:

manus supinas,

Liv. 3, 50, 5:

manus ripae ulterioris amore,

Verg. A. 6, 314; cf.

also: Graecia tendit dexteram Italiae,

stretches forth, reaches, Cic. Phil. 10, 4, 9; id. Prov. Cons. 4, 9:

(conjux) parvum patri tendebat Iulum,

reaches out, Verg. A. 2, 674:

tu munera supplex Tende, petens pacem,

id. G. 4, 535:

quo tendant ferrum,

aim, direct, id. A. 5, 489:

qua nunc se ponti plaga caerula tendit,

stretches itself out, extends, Lucr. 5, 481. —

2.

In partic.:

nervum tendere, in mal. part.,

Auct. Priap. 70; cf. Mart. 11, 60, 3.—Hence, tentus, a lecherous man, Mart. 11, 73, 3; Auct. Priap. 20; 27; 34 al.; and tenta, ōrum, n., = membrum virile, Cat. 80, 6.—

B.

Trop.: insidiae tenduntur alicui, are spread out, laid (qs. like nets), Cic. Rosc. Com. 16, 46:

insidias alicui,

Sall. C. 27, 2; Suet. Caes. 35:

omnes insidias animis,

Cic. Leg. 1, 17, 47:

animum vigilem,

to strain, exert, Stat. Achill. 1, 543: longo tendit praecordia voto, Claud. Cons. Prob. et Ol. 66; cf.:

sunt quibus in Satirā videor nimis acer et ultra Legem tendere opus,

i. e. to heighten, aggravate, Hor. S. 2, 1, 2:

aestivam sermone benigno noctem,

to protract, extend, id. Ep. 1, 5, 11:

(lunam) Tanto posse minus cum Signis tendere cursum,

to direct, Lucr. 5, 631:

cursum ex acie in Capitolia,

Sil. 9, 216:

cursum ad agmina suorum,

id. 10, 73:

iter ad naves,

Verg. A. 1, 656:

iter pennis,

id. ib. 6, 240:

ad dominum iter,

Ov. M. 2, 547:

cursum unde et quo,

Liv. 23, 34, 5:

iter in Hispaniam, Auct. B. Afr. 95: cunctis civibus lucem ingenii et consilii sui porrigens atque tendens,

tendering, offering, Cic. de Or. 1, 40, 184.—

II.

Neutr.

A.

To direct one ' s self or one ' s course; to aim, strive, go, travel, march, tend, bend one ' s course in any direction (class.).

1.

Lit.:

dubito an Venusiam tendam,

Cic. Att. 16, 5, 3:

Beneventum,

Hor. S. 1, 5, 71:

cursuque amens ad limina tendit,

Verg. A. 2, 321:

ad castra,

Liv. 9, 37:

in castra,

id. 10, 36:

ad aedes,

Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 89:

ad domum Bruti et Cassii,

Suet. Caes. 85:

ad portus,

Ov. M. 15, 690:

Ciconum ad oras,

id. ib. 10, 3:

ad metam,

id. ib. 15, 453; cf.:

cum alter ad alterum tenderemus,

Plin. Ep. 1, 5, 9:

unde venis? et Quo tendis?

Hor. S. 1, 9, 63; id. Ep. 1, 15, 11; id. C. 3, 3, 70:

quo tendere pergunt,

Verg. A. 6, 198; Nep. Milt. 1, 6:

tendimus huc (sc. in Orcum) omnes,

Ov. M. 10, 34 et saep. —

b.

Of things concrete or abstract, to go, proceed, extend, stretch, etc.:

in quem locum quaeque (imago) tendat,

Lucr. 4, 179:

levibus in sublime tendentibus,

Plin. 2, 5, 4, § 11:

sursum tendit palmes,

Col. 5, 6, 28:

simulacra viis derectis omnia tendunt,

Lucr. 4, 609.— Poet., with acc. of direction:

tunc aethera tendit,

Luc. 7, 477:

dextera (via), quae Ditis magni sub moenia tendit,

Verg. A. 6, 541:

gula tendit ad stomachum, is ad ventrem,

reaches, extends, Plin. 11, 37, 66, § 176:

Taurus mons ad occasum tendens,

id. 5, 27, 27, § 97; so id. 5, 5, 5, § 35; 16, 30, 53, § 122; cf.:

Portae Caspiae, quae per Iberiam in Sarmatas tendunt,

id. 6, 13, 15, § 40:

seu mollis quā tendit Ionia,

Prop. 1, 6, 31.—

2.

Trop.

a.

In gen., to aim, strive, be directed or inclined, to tend in any direction:

ad reliqua alacri tendebamus animo,

Cic. Div. 2, 2, 4; cf.:

ad altiora et non concessa tendere,

Liv. 4, 13, 4:

ad majora,

Quint. 2, 4, 20; 12, 2, 27:

ad eloquium,

Ov. Tr. 4, 10, 17:

ad suum,

Liv. 4, 9, 5; cf.:

ad Carthaginienses,

id. 24, 5, 8:

cum alii alio tenderent,

id. 24, 28, 1:

in diversum sententiae tendebant,

id. 36, 10, 7: tenes, quorsum haec tendant, quae loquor, tend, look, = spectent, Plaut. Ps. 1, 2, 81; Hor. S. 2, 7, 21. —

(β).

To exert one ' s self, to strive, endeavor (mostly poet. ); with inf.:

(Laocoon) manibus tendit divellere nodos,

Verg. A. 2, 220:

pasta (nitedula) rursus Ire foras pleno tendebat corpore frustra,

Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 31: captae [p. 1853] civitati leges imponere, Liv. 6, 38, 7; 24, 35; 10, 1:

quod efficere tendimus,

Quint. 9, 1, 21:

fratresque tendentes opaco Pelion imposuisse Olympo,

Hor. C. 3, 4, 51:

tendit disertus haberi,

id. Ep. 1, 19, 16:

aqua tendit rumpere plumbum,

id. ib. 1, 10, 20; Pers. 5, 139; Juv. 10, 154. — Absol.:

miles tendere, inde ad jurgium,

insists, persists, Ter. Eun. 4, 1, 12. —

b.

In partic., to exert one ' s self in opposition, to strive, try, endeavor, contend (class. but not freq. till the Aug. per.):

nec nos obniti contra nec tendere tantum Sufficimus,

Verg. A. 5, 21; cf.: nec mora nec requies;

vasto certamine tendunt,

id. ib. 12, 553:

Petreius ubi videt Catilinam contra ac ratus erat magnā vi tendere,

Sall. C. 60, 5; cf.:

summā vi,

Liv. 32, 32, 7 Drak.:

adversus, etc.,

id. 34, 34, 1:

contra,

id. 35, 51, 6:

ultra,

id. 24, 31, 4:

acrius,

Tac. A. 2, 74; cf.:

acrius contra, ut, etc.,

Liv. 3, 15, 2; so with ut, id. 4, 7, 8; with ne, id. 4, 8, 6:

quid tendit? cum efficere non possit, ut, etc.,

what does he strive for? to what do his efforts tend? Cic. Fin. 2, 5, 16; cf.:

nihil illi tendere contra,

Verg. A. 9, 377. —

B.

For tentoria tendere, to set up tents, to be under tents, be encamped, to encamp:

qui sub vallo tenderent mercatores,

Caes. B. G. 6, 37; cf.:

omnibus extra vallum jussis tendere, Frontin. Strat. 4, 1, 18: vallo tendetis in illo,

Luc. 7, 328:

hic Dolopum manus, hic saevus tendebat Achilles,

Verg. A. 2, 29:

legio latis tendebat in arvis,

id. ib. 8, 605:

isdem castris,

Liv. 44, 13, 12; 27, 46; 44, 5; Suet. Galb. 12; 19; cf.:

isdem hibernis tendentes,

Tac. H. 1, 55:

Lugduni tendentes,

id. ib. 1, 59:

cum multitudo laxius tenderet,

Curt. 3, 8, 18; 5, 7, 6; 7, 2, 37:

tendere in campis,

id. 10, 7, 20. — Hence, tensus, a, um, P. a., stretched out, drawn tight, strained, tense (rare):

rectissima linea tensa,

Quint. 3, 6, 83:

collum,

id. 11, 3, 82; cf.:

remissis magis quam tensis (digitis),

id. 11, 3, 99:

vox tensior (opp. remissior),

id. 11, 3, 42:

lacerti,

Luc. 7, 469:

rudentes,

id. 2, 683:

frons,

Lucr. 6, 1195:

tormento citharāque tensior,

Auct. Priap. 6 and 70.— Sup. and adv. do not occur.