to swallow entire cakes at once

sĕmĕl, adv. num. [root sam-, one; Sanscr. sa-, sam-, with, together; Gr. hama, hapax; cf.: sem-per, sim-ilis, sim-plex, sin-gulus, etc.].

Lit., once, a single time: ter sub armis malim vitam cernere, Quam semel modo parere, Enn. ap. Varr. L. L. 6, § 81 Müll.; and ap. Non. 261, 9 (Trag. v. 298 Vahl.); so,

potin' ut semel modo huc respicias?

Plaut. Ps. 1, 3, 30:

satis sum semel deceptus,

id. Capt. 3, 5, 99:

semel fugiendi si data est occasio, Satis est,

id. ib. 1, 2, 8; so,

semel si,

id. As. 1, 3, 66 (but cf.: si semel, infra, II. B. 2 fin.):

qui vel semel ita est usus oculis, ut vera cerneret, is, etc.,

Cic. Div. 2, 52, 107:

ut attendant, semel bisne signum canat in castris,

Liv. 27, 47, 3:

semel in mense sulcos sarrito,

Cato, R. R. 43, 2:

semel die,

Cels. 1, 3 fin.:

in diebus,

Col. 12, 30, 1:

semel anno,

Plin. 12, 14, 32, § 58:

in anno,

id. 4, 12, 26, § 89:

quem (Crassum) semel ait in vitā risisse Lucilius,

Cic. Fin. 5, 30, 92; so,

semel in vitā,

Plin. 7, 13, 11, § 58:

semel adhuc,

id. 2, 25, 22, § 90:

semel umquam,

id. 2, 35, 35, § 100 et saep.:

M. Valerius Corvinus sellā curuli semel ac vicies sedit,

id. 7, 48, 49, § 157;

for which also: vicies et semel,

id. 2, 108, 102, § 243: sol omni terrarum ambitu non semel major, not greater by once, i. e. not as large again, not twice as large, Sen. Q. N. 6, 16:

haud semel sed centies,

Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 148; cf. id. As. 2, 4, 15:

non semel, sed bis,

Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 77, § 179; Val. Max. 1, 8, 4:

non semel, sed saepe,

Cic. Att. 1, 19, 7; id. Tusc. 5, 19, 56:

non semel sed saepius,

id. Phil. 2, 21, 52; id. N. D. 1, 40, 113; Nep. Epam. 7, 2; Lact. 3, 17, 12; Aug. Ep. 43, 15; 102, 7:

non plus quam semel eloqui,

Cic. Off. 3, 15, 61; Vell. 2, 40, 4; also without quam: plus semel, more than once, Varr. ap. Plin. 14, 14, 17, § 96: Janum Quirinum semel atque iterum clausum, once and again, i. e. twice, Suet. Aug. 22 (for which:

Janus bis clausus,

Liv. 1, 19; Flor. 4, 12, 64; cf. also Plut. Num. 20); Suet. Aug. 27; but also in a more gen. sense: pecuniam semel atque iterum dare coacti sunt, time and again, i. e. repeatedly, Cic. Font. 12, 26 (8, 16):

hoc semel ille iterumque neglexit,

id. Div. 1, 25, 54; cf.:

cum his Aeduos semel atque iterum armis contendisse,

Caes. B.G. 1, 31; Liv. 27, 16 fin.; so too Suet. Claud. 46;

for which: semel iterumque,

Petr. 34, 9; 115, 12:

Piso saepe dicebat, minus saepe Pomponius, raro Carbo, semel aut iterum Philippus,

only once or twice, Cic. Brut. 90, 308; Sen. Contr. 1, 7, 12:

semel et saepius,

Cic. Phil. 14, 8, 22; Varr. L. L. 10, § 33 Müll.; cf.:

an quod semel jus est, idem et saepius?

Quint. 7, 8, 3.—Late Lat.:

semel et bis,

repeatedly, Vulg. Phil. 4, 16; Greg. M. Ep. 5, 18 fin. —

Transf.

Pregn., like the Gr. hapax, of that which occurs no more than [p. 1664] once, but once, but a single time, once for all:

cum facile orari, Caesar, tum semel exorari soles,

Cic. Deiot. 3, 9:

quibus semel ignotum a te esse oportet,

id. ib. 14, 39:

hostis est datus, cum quo dimicantes aut vitam semel aut ignominiam finirent,

Liv. 25, 6:

totas semel absorbere placentas,

to swallow entire cakes at once, Hor. S. 2, 8, 24:

procubuit moriens et humum semel ore momordit,

once for all, Verg. A. 11, 418; cf.: nulla reparabilis arte Laesa pudicitia est;

deperit illa semel,

Ov. H. 5, 104:

semel aeternā nocte premenda fui,

id. ib. 10, 112:

nobis vero homicidio semel interdicto,

once for all, Tert. Apol. 9:

sic et semel Christus oblatus est,

Vulg. Heb. 9, 28; id. 1 Pet. 3, 18:

quoniam se semel a caeli contemplatione averterunt,

Lact. 6, 1, 7;

hence in Florus: semel in perpetuum,

Flor. 2, 12, 2:

semel et in perpetuum,

id. 3, 6, 7.—Of speech, at once, once for all, in a word, briefly:

cum postulasset, ut sibi fundus, cujus emptor erat, semel indicaretur,

Cic. Off. 3, 15, 62 (for which, just before:

non plus quam semel): interim, quod pluribus collegit adversarius, satis est semel proponere,

Quint. 5, 13, 14; cf.:

ut semel, plura complectar,

id. 11, 1, 66; 1, 2, 24; 2, 15, 34:

ut semel dicam,

id. 10, 1, 17:

ut, quod sentio, semel finiam,

id. 5, 13, 3; cf.:

quisquam denique, ut semel finiam, in lite cantat?

id. 11, 3, 59; so (after denique) id. 10, 3, 22.—

In a succession = primum, primo, the first time, first:

demonstravimus, L. Vibullium Rufum bis in potestatem pervenisse Caesaris, semel ad Corfinium, iterum in Hispaniā,

Caes. B. C. 3, 10; so after bis, with iterum, Liv. 1, 19, 3; Suet. Caes. 36; id. Aug. 25; id. tib. 6 Oud.; 72; id. Claud. 6; after ter, with iterum and tertio, Liv. 23, 9, 11.—Without iterum, etc.:

cum ad idem, unde semel profecta sunt, cuncta astra redierint,

Cic. Rep. 6, 22, 24; cf.:

uti exorta est semel,

Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 118.—

In gen., like primum, to denote the simple antecedence of an occurrence; hence, most freq. with the particles ut, ubi, quando, cum, si, etc., once, ever, at some time, at any time:

quod semel dixi, haud mutabo,

what I have once said, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 2, 85:

quod Complacitum est semel,

id. Am. prol. 106:

satis sum semel deceptus,

id. Capt. 3, 5, 99:

verebamini, ne non id facerem quod recepissem semel?

Ter. Phorm. 5, 7, 9:

nec accidere, ut quisquam te timere incipiat eorum, qui semel a te sint liberati timore,

Cic. Deiot. 14, 39:

in id, quod semel invasit, incumbit,

Quint. 2, 12, 2:

retrahi nequitum, quoquo progressa est semel, Plaut. Fragm. ap. Fest. s. v. nequitum, p. 162 Müll.—So too in the comically formed proper name: Quodsemelarripides,

Plaut. Pers. 4, 6, 23.—With particles; with ut:

in hasce aedes pedem Nemo intro tetulit, semel ut emigravimus,

Plaut. Most. 2, 2, 40:

ut occepi semel,

id. Am. 3, 1, 13:

ut semel eloquentia evecta est,

Cic. Brut. 13, 51:

ut semel gloriam consecutus sum,

id. Att. 1, 19, 6; Caes. B. G. 1, 31:

denique ut semel finiam,

Quint. 9, 4, 138.—With ubi:

ubi erit accubitum semel,

Plaut. Bacch. 4, 4, 105:

ubi animus semel cupiditate se devinxit malā,

Ter. Heaut. 1, 2, 34; 2, 4, 12; Liv. 22, 2.—With quandoquidem:

perge, quandoquidem occepisti semel,

Plaut. Merc. 3, 4, 34.—With quando:

quando in apertum semel discrimen evasura esset res,

Liv. 10, 14, 8.—With cum:

quae proclivius ad perniciem, cum semel coepit, labitur,

Cic. Lael. 12, 41.—With quoniam:

(Antonius) quoniam semel induxit animum, sibi licere quod vellet, etc.,

Cic. Att. 14, 13, 6;

Ov H. 12, 11: illam partem, quoniam semel ita vobis placuit, non recusabo quominus perpoliam,

Cic. de Or 2, 28, 121; id. Rosc. Am. 11, 31; id. Phil. 12, 7, 18; Liv. 40, 13, 7.—With si:

si semel amoris peculum accepit, Extemplo et ipsus periit et res,

Plaut. Truc. 1, 1, 22; so,

si semel,

id. Mil. 3, 3, 42:

si istam semel amiseris libertatem,

id. ib. 3, 1, 106 Brix ad loc.; Ov. M. 13, 101:

si illum semel prehendero,

Plaut. Ep. 3, 1, 6:

si semel animum tuom perspexerit,

Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 69:

et semel emissum volat inrevocabile verbam,

Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 71 (but, semel si, if once, if ever, whenever, as an emphatic numeral, Plaut. As. 1, 3, 66; id. Capt. 1, 2, 8; v. supra, I. init.).—With participles (several times in Liv. and Quint.): ut adversando remorandoque incitato semel militi adderent impetum, Liv. 2, 45, 7; so id. 5, 6, 8; 25, 6, 15; Quint. 4, 2, 115; 7, 10, 9; 10, 7, 24 al.