vacantia

văco, āvi, ātum, 1 ( perf. vacui, Tert. Pall. 4; id. Pud. 8 fin.; id. adv. Val. 9), v. n. [etym. dub.], to be empty, void, or vacant; to be void of, or without; not to contain (class.; cf.: careo, egeo).

I.

In gen.

A.

Lit., of space, etc.

1.

Absol.:

quācumque vacat spatium, quod inane vocamus,

Lucr. 1, 507; so,

spatium,

id. 2, 1053; 6, 1029:

inane,

id. 1, 520:

villa ita completa militibus est, ut vix triclinium... vacaret,

Cic. Att. 13, 52, 1:

tota domus superior vacat,

id. ib. 13, 12, 10:

aedes,

Plaut. Cas. 3, 1, 7:

maximam putant esse laudem, quam latissime a suis finibus vacare agros,

to be uninhabited, uncultivated, Caes. B. G. 4, 3:

locus,

id. ib. 1, 28; Quint. 8, 6, 18; 9, 4, 118; 10, 3, 33:

ostia septem Pulverulenta vacant, septem sine flumine valles,

Ov. M. 2, 256:

odi cum late splendida cera vacat,

id. Am. 1, 11, 20:

haec fiunt dum vacat harena,

Sen. Ep. 7, 4.—

2.

With abl. (so most freq.):

illa natura caelestis et terra vacat et umore,

Cic. Tusc. 1, 26, 65; cf. id. N. D. 2, 24, 64:

mens vacans corpore,

id. ib. 1, 10, 25:

hoste vacare domos,

Verg. A. 3, 123:

(domus) quae Igne vacet,

Ov. M. 2, 764:

custode vacans,

id. ib. 2, 422:

ora vacent epulis,

i. e. abstain from, id. ib. 15, 478: ea pars oppidi, quae fluminis circuitu vacabat, Auct. B. G. 8, 41. —

3.

With ab:

haec a custodiis classium loca maxime vacabant,

Caes. B. C. 3, 25.—

B.

Transf., to be vacant. free from, without, unoccupied, etc.

1.

With abl.:

ejusmodi (nimiis animi) motibus sermo debet vacare,

Cic. Off. 1, 38, 136:

nulla vitae pars vacare officio potest,

id. ib. 1, 2, 4:

omni curatione et administratione rerum (dii),

id. N. D. 1, 1, 2:

studiis,

id. de Or. 3, 11, 43:

curā et negotio,

id. Leg. 1, 3, 8:

vitio,

id. ib. 3, 3, 10:

culpā,

id. Fam. 7, 3, 4:

criminibus,

Quint. 10, 1, 34:

febri,

Cels. 2, 14 med.:

morbis,

Dig. 21, 1, 53:

amplitudo animi pulchrior, si vacet populo,

keeps free from, remains aloof from, Cic. Tusc. 2, 26, 64:

respublica et milite illic et pecuniā vacet,

be free from the necessity of furnishing, Liv. 2, 48, 9.—

2.

With ab and abl.:

nullum tempus illi umquam vacabat aut a forensi dictione aut a scribendo,

Cic. Brut. 78, 272:

(rex) quicquid a bellis populi Romani vacabat, cum hominibus nostris consuetudines jungebat,

id. Deiot. 9, 27:

a publico officio et munere,

id. Div. 2, 2, 7:

ab opere (milites),

Caes. B. C. 3, 76:

ne quando a metu ac periculis vacarent,

Liv. 7, 1:

vacant ab imbecillis valetudinaria,

Col. 12, 3, 8:

a culpā,

Sen. Ep. 97, 1:

a periculo,

id. Q. N. 6, 1, 1:

a negotiis,

Phaedr. 3 prol.—

II.

In partic.

A.

To be free from labor, not busied, idle, at leisure; to have leisure or time:

quamvis occupatus sis, otii tamen plus habes: aut, si ne tu quidem vacas, noli, etc.,

Cic. Fam. 12, 30, 1; cf. Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 13, 1; Quint. 10, 3, 27:

festus in pratis vacat otioso Cum bove pagus,

Hor. C. 3, 18, 11:

si vacabis,

Cic. Att. 12, 38, 2:

si forte vacas,

Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 95.—

2.

After the Aug. per. esp. freq.

a.

Vacare alicui rei, to be free to attend, apply, or devote one's self to something; to have leisure or time for a thing (cf. studeo):

philosophiae, Quinte, semper vaco,

Cic. Div. 1, 6, 10:

in itinere, quasi solutus ceteris curis, huic uni vacaret,

Plin. Ep. 3, 5, 15:

huic uni negotio vacare,

Vell. 2, 114, 1:

ille non vacasse sermoni suo regem causatus discessit,

Curt. 6, 7, 21:

paulum etiam palaestricis,

Quint. 1, 11, 15:

studio operis pulcherrimi,

id. 12, 1, 4:

foro,

id. 10, 1, 114:

clientium negotiis,

Tac. A. 16, 22:

non discendo tantum juri, sed etiam docendo,

Quint. 12, 1, 10:

libellis legendis ac rescribendis,

Suet. Aug. 45:

queruntur de superiorum fastidio, quod ipsis adire volentibus non vacaverint,

have no leisure for them, can not attend to them, Sen. Brev. Vit. 2, 5.—Rarely absol.:

dum perago tecum pauca sed apta, vaca,

Ov. Am. 2, 2, 2.—

b.

Vacare ad aliquid:

non vaco ad istas ineptias,

Sen. Ep. 49, 9; cf. ( poet. ):

in grande opus,

Ov. P. 3, 3, 36; also, with inf.:

sternere acies,

Stat. Th. 8, 185.—

c.

Vacat (alicui), impers., there is time, room, or leisure for a thing ( poet. and in post-Aug. prose).

(α).

With inf. (so most freq.): si primā repetens ab origine pergam Et vacet annales nostrorum audire laborum, Verg. A. 1, 373:

tunc et elegiam vacabit in manus sumere,

Quint. 10, 1, 58:

non vacabit incohare haec studia,

id. 1, 12, 12: hactenus indulsisse vacat, it is permitted, i. q. licet, Verg. A. 10, 625 Heyne; imitated by Sil. 17, 374.—

(β).

With dat., I ( thou, he, etc.) have leisure or time for a thing:

nobis venari nec vacat nec libet,

Plin. Ep. 9, 16, 1:

non vacat exiguis rebus adesse Jovi,

Ov. Tr. 2, 216:

nec nostris praebere vacet tibi cantibus aures,

id. M. 5, 334:

obstat enim diligentiae scribendi etiam fatigatio et abunde, si vacet, lucis spatia sufficiunt,

Quint. 10, 3, 27:

cui esse diserto vacet,

id. 11, 1, 50:

quo magis te, cui vacat, hortor, etc.,

Plin. Ep. 1, 10, 11; 8, 15, 1; Curt. 10, 10, 12; Vell. 1, 15, 1; 2, 124, 1.— Absol.:

teneri properentur amores, Dum vacat,

Ov. Am. 3, 1, 70:

si vacat,

Juv. 1, 21. —

B.

Of possessions, lands, etc., to be unoccupied, vacant, ownerless:

cum agri Ligustini... aliquantum vacaret, senatūs consultum est factum, ut is ager viritim divideretur,

Liv. 42, 4, 3:

fundi possessionem nancisci, quae ex neglegentiā domini vacat,

Dig. 41, 3, 37:

si nemo sit, bona vacabunt,

ib. 38, 7, 2 fin. —

2.

Esp., of offices, relations, positions, employments, etc., to be vacant, without incumbent, etc.:

si Piso adesset, nullius philosophiae vacaret locus,

Cic. N. D. 1, 7, 16: quid enim nostrā victum esse Antonium, si victus est, ut alii vacaret, quod ille obtinuit? may stand open, Brut. ap. Cic. Ep. ad Brut. 1, 17, 6:

rogo ut Suram praeturā exornare digneris, cuia locus vacet,

Plin. Ep. 10, 12 (7), 1:

rogo dignitati... vel auguratum vel septemviratum, quia vacant, adicere digneris,

id. ib. 10, 13 (8).— Hence, văcans, antis, P. a.

A.

Empty, unoccupied, without an owner, vacant:

locus,

Sen. Cons. ad Marc. 16, 8:

metaphora... vacantem locum occupare debet,

Quint. 8, 6, 18:

regnum,

Just. 42, 4, 2; 25, 2, 4; 27, 3, 1:

saltus,

Verg. G. 3, 477:

balneae,

Tac. H. 3, 11:

bona,

Dig. 30, 1, 93; 30, 1, 111.— Subst.: văcantia, ĭum, n., vacant estates, property without an owner:

ut, si a privilegiis parentum cessaretur, velut parens omnium populus vacantia teneret,

Tac. A. 3, 28.—

B.

Of women, single, unmarried, without a husband:

qui vacantem mulierem rapuit vel nuptam,

Dig. 48, 6, 5; Quint. Decl. 262 (cf. vacua, Ov. H. 20, 149).—

C.

Of persons, at leisure, unoccupied, idle:

nec petiit animum vacantem,

Ov. M. 9, 612.— Subst.: văcantĭa, ĭum, n., that which is superfluous, useless (post-class.):

vacantia ex quāque re ac non necessariā auferre et excidere,

Gell. 6, 5, 6.—Hence, adv.: vă-canter, superfluously, Gell. 17, 10, 16.