A throwing around

* * *

circumjectĭo, ōnis, f. [circumicio].

A throwing around, casting about (postclass.) manuum, Cael. Aur Acut. 1, 2, 31. —

A putting on clothing, dressing:

corporis,

Arn. 2, p 73

pīla, ae, f. [perh. for pisula, from root pis-; v. pinso, piso], a mortar (syn. mortarium):

pila, ubi triticum pinsant,

Cato, R. R. 14; Ov. Ib. 573:

zeae granum tunditur in pilā ligneā,

Plin. 18, 11, 29, § 112:

si contuderis stultum in pilā,

Vulg. Prov. 27, 22: sal sordidum in pilā pisatum, Paul. ex Fest. p. 158 Müll.

pīlă, ae, f. [for pigla, from root pag-, pig-, of pango, pe-pig-i, q. v.], a pillar (syn. columna): pila, quae parietem sustentat, ab opponendo dicta est, Paul. ex Fest. p. 204 Müll.:

locavit pilas pontis in Tiberim,

Liv. 40, 51:

salax taberna a pileatis nona fratribus pila, of the temple of Castor and Pollux,

Cat. 37, 1: nulla taberna meos habeat neque pila libellos, i. e. they are not to be publicly sold (as the booksellers had their stalls around the pillars of public buildings), Hor. S. 1, 4, 71; Vitr. 6, 11:

pilas operibus subdere,

Sen. Q. N. 6, 302; Plin. 11, 10, 10, § 23; Mart. 7, 61, 5.—

Transf., a pier or mole of stone:

saxea,

Verg. A. 9, 711; Vitr. 5, 12; Suet. Claud. 20; Sil. 4, 297.

pĭla, ae ( gen. sing. pilaï, Lucr. 5, 713; 720; 726), f. [etym. dub.; perh. akin to Gr. pallô, brandish; Lat. pellere, drive; v. Corss. 1, 525 sqq.], a ball, playing-ball (syn. follis).

Lit.: pilā expulsim ludere, Varr. ap. Non. 104, 29:

di nos quasi pilas homines habent,

Plaut. Capt. prol. 22; id. Most. 1, 2, 73:

pilae studio teneri,

Cic. de Or. 3, 23, 88; Hor. S. 1, 5, 49:

cum lapsa e manibus fugit pila,

Verg. Cir. 149, Prop. 3, 12 (4, 13), 5:

pila cadit aut mittentis vitio, aut accipientis... (pila) jactata et excepta,

Sen. Ben. 2, 17, 3:

pilam scite et diligenter excipere... apte et expedite remittere,

id. ib. 2, 32, 1:

pilam repetere, quae terram contigit,

Petr. 27:

reddere pilam,

Mart. 14, 46, 2. There were four sorts of pilæ:

trigonalis, paganica, follis, harpastum.—Prov.: mea pila est,

I have the ball, I have caught it, I've won, Plaut. Truc. 4, 1, 7:

claudus pilam,

Cic. Pis. 28, 69;

v. claudus: Fortunae pila,

the foot-ball of fortune, Aur. Vict. Epit. 18.—

Transf.

The game of ball:

quantum alii tribuunt alveolo, quantum pilae,

Cic. Arch. 6, 13.—

Of any thing round, a ball or globe of any material:

pilae lanuginis,

Plin. 12, 10, 21, § 38:

scarabaei e fimo ingentes pilas aversi pedibus volutant,

id. 11, 28, 34, § 98.—Of the globe of the earth (ante-class.): in terrae pila, Varr. ap. Non. 333, 25.—The ancients made use of a glass or crystal ball filled with water as a burning-glass:

cum addită aquā vitreae pilae sole adverso in tantum excandescunt, ut vestes exurant,

Plin. 36, 26, 67, § 199; 37, 2, 10, § 28.—The Roman ladies carried a crystal or amber ball to keep their hands cool, Prop. 2, 18, 60 (3, 18, 12); Mart. 11, 8.—Of the ball or lump of earth which adheres to the roots of a bush when torn up, Col. 5, 9. —Of the ballots or bails used by judges in voting, Prop. 4 (5), 11, 19; Ascon. Argum. Milon. fin. —Of stuffed balls or human figures: pilae et effigies viriles et muliebres ex lanā Compitalibus suspendebantur in compitis. quod hunc diem festum esse deorum inferorum quos vocant Lares, putarent: quibus tot pilae, quot capita servorum; tot effigies, quot essent liberi. ponebantur, ut vivis parcerent et essent his pilis et simulacris contenti, Paul. ex Fest. p. 239 Müll. Bulls were baited by throwing similar stuffed figures at their heads, Mart. Spect. 19, 2:

quantus erat cornu, cui pila taurus erat!

id. ib. 9;

hence, sed cui primus erat lusor dum floruit aetas, Nunc postquam desiit ludere prima pila est,

id. ib. 10, 86. As these effigies were usually torn by the throwing, the term is also applied to a torn toga, Mart. 2, 43, 6.—

In partic.:

pilae Nursicae, i. e. rapae rotundae,

Mart. 13, 20, 2.

torquĕo, torsi, tortum, 2 (archaic inf. torquerier, Hor. S. 2, 8, 67), v. a. [Gr. trepô, to turn; cf. atrekês; also Sanscr. tarkus; Gr. atraktos, a spindle; and strephô, to twist], to turn, turn about or away; to twist, bend, wind (class.; syn. converto).

Lit.

In gen.:

cervices oculosque,

Cic. Leg. 2, 15, 39:

oculum,

to roll, distort, id. Ac. 2, 25, 80:

ora,

to twist awry, id. Off. 1, 36, 131:

ab obscenis sermonibus aurem,

Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 127:

oculos ad moenia,

Verg. A. 4, 220:

ad sonitum vocis vestigia,

id. ib. 3, 669:

serpens squamosos orbes Torquet,

Ov. M. 3, 42; cf.

anguis,

Verg. G. 3, 38:

capillos ferro,

i. e. to curl, frizzle, Ov. A. A. 1, 505:

stamina pollice,

id. M. 12, 475:

remis aquas,

id. F. 5, 644:

spumas,

Verg. A. 3, 208:

taxos in arcus,

to bend, id. G. 2, 448:

tegumen torquens immane leonis,

winding about him, id. A. 7, 666:

cum terra circum axem se convertat et torqueat,

Cic. Ac. 2, 39, 123:

torta circum bracchia vestis,

Tac. H. 5, 22.—

In partic.

To whirl around, to whirl in the act of throwing, to wield, brandish, to fling with force, to hurl (mostly poet.):

torquet nunc lapidem, nunc ingens machina tignum,

Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 73:

amnis torquet sonantia saxa,

Verg. A. 6, 551:

stuppea torquentem Balearis verbera fundae,

id. G. 1, 309:

jaculum in hostem,

id. A. 10, 585; Ov. M. 12, 323: hastam in hunc, id. ib 5, 137;

for which: hastam alicui,

Val. Fl. 3, 193:

telum aurata ad tempora,

Verg. A. 12, 536:

tela manu,

Ov. M. 12, 99:

valido pila lacerto,

id. F. 2, 11:

glebas, ramos,

id. M. 11, 30:

cum fulmina torquet (Juppiter),

Verg. A. 4, 208;

and trop.: cum Juppiter horridus austris Torquet aquosam hiemem,

id. ib. 9, 671; cf.:

Eurus nubes in occiduum orbem,

Luc. 4, 63.—In prose:

torquere amentatas hastas lacertis,

Cic. de Or. 1, 57, 242.—

To twist awry, misplace, turn aside, distort:

negat sibi umquam, cum oculum torsisset, duas ex lucernā flammulas esse visas,

Cic. Ac. 2, 25, 80:

ora Tristia temptantum sensu (sapor) torquebit amaro,

Verg. G. 2, 247.—

To wrench the limbs upon the rack, to put to the rack or to the torture, to rack, torture (class.):

ita te nervo torquebo, itidem uti catapultae solent,

Plaut. Curc. 5, 3, 12:

eculeo torqueri,

Cic. Fin. 3, 13, 42:

aliquem servilem in modum,

Suet. Aug. 27; cf.:

ira torquentium,

Tac. A. 15, 57:

servum in caput domini,

against his master, Dig. 48, 18, 1: vinctus tortusve, [p. 1880] Suet. Aug. 40 fin. —

Trop.

In gen., to twist, wrest, distort, turn, bend, direct (a favorite expression of Cicero):

versare suam naturam et regere ad tempus atque huc et illuc torquere ac flectere,

Cic. Cael. 6, 13:

torquere et flectere imbecillitatem animorum,

id. Leg. 1, 10, 29:

oratio ita flexibilis, ut sequatur, quocumque torqueas,

id. Or. 16, 52:

omnia ad suae causae commodum,

id. Inv. 2, 14, 46:

verbo ac litterā jus omne torqueri,

wrested, perverted, id. Caecin. 27, 77:

sonum,

to inflect, Auct. Her. 3, 14, 25:

cuncta tuo qui bella, pater, sub numine torques,

Verg. A. 12, 180:

versare sententias, et huc atque illuc torquere,

Tac. H. 1, 85.—

In partic. (acc. to A. 2.), to rack, torment, torture (syn.:

ango, crucio): tuae libidines te torquent,

Cic. Par. 2, 18:

mitto aurum coronarium, quod te diutissime torsit,

id. Pis. 37, 90: acriter nos tuae supplicationes torserunt, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 11, 1:

equidem dies noctesque torqueor,

Cic. Att. 7, 9, 4:

verbi controversia jam diu torquet Graeculos homines,

id. de Or. 1, 11, 47; 3, 9, 33:

stulti malorum memoriā torquentur,

id. Fin. 1, 17, 57:

sollicitudine, poenitentia, etc., torquetur mens,

Quint. 12, 1, 7:

invidiā vel amore vigil torquebere,

Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 37; Ov. H. 20, 123:

torqueor, infesto ne vir ab hoste cadat,

id. ib. 9, 36; cf. Hor. S. 2, 8, 67:

Aeacus torquet umbras,

holds inquisition over, Juv. 1, 9.— Transf.: (reges) dicuntur torquere mero, quem perspexisse laborant, qs. to rack with wine, i. e. to try or test with wine, Hor. A. P. 435; so,

vino tortus et irā,

id. Ep. 1, 18, 38.—

To hurl, fling (of language):

curvum sermone rotato enthymema,

Juv. 6, 449.—Hence, tortus, a, um, P. a., twisted, crooked, contorted, distorted.

Lit.:

via (labyrinthi),

Prop. 4 (5), 4, 42:

quercus,

i. e. a twisted oakgarland, Verg. G. 1, 349.—Hence,

Subst.: torta, ae, f., a twisted loaf, a twist, Vulg. 1 Par. 16, 3. —

Trop.:

condiciones,

confused, complicated, Plaut. Men. 4, 2, 25. — Adv.: tortē, awry, crookedly:

torte penitusque remota,

Lucr. 4, 305 (329).