dēcerpō

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to pluck off / to gather, take away

dē-cerpo, psi, ptum, 3, v. a. [carpo], to pluck off, to tear, pull, or break off, to crop, gather (class.; most freq. in the poets.—Constr., usually aliquid ex aliqua re; less freq. aliquid de aliqua re).

Lit.:

acina de uvis decerpito,

Cato R. R. 112, 3:

novos flores,

Lucr. 1, 927; 4, 3; cf.:

undique decerptam fronti praeponere olivam,

Hor. Od. 1, 7, 7:

arbore pomum,

Ov. M. 5, 536; cf. id. Pont. 3, 5, 19;

and auricomos fetus arbore,

Verg. A. 6, 141:

praetenuia fila ex abietibus,

Plin. 16, 31, 56, § 128;

lilia tenero ungui,

Prop. 1, 20, 39; cf.:

pollice florem,

Ov. F. 5, 255;

and aurea poma manu mea,

id. M. 10, 649; Val. Max. 2, 8, 5:

herbas,

Ov. M. 1, 645:

ficum,

Juv. 14, 253 et saep.— Absol.:

floret (thymum) circa solstitia, cum et apes decerpunt,

Plin. 21, 10, 31, § 56; Catull. 64, 316.—

Trop.:

quae (omnia) nisi cotidie decerpantur arescunt,

Quint. 12, 10, 79:

humanus animus decerptus ex mente divina,

Cic. Tusc. 5, 13, 38; cf. Quint. 4, 1, 23:

ne quid jocus de gravitate decerperet,

Cic. de Or. 2, 56, 229:

quarum (materiarum) nunc facillima decerpunt,

Quint. 10, 5, 21.— Poet.: oscula mordenti semper decerpere rostro, Catull. 68, 127 (cf.: carpo, no. II. 1);

for which, ora puellae,

Verg. Cop. 33 Sillig.—Hence,

Transf.

(Acc. to carpo, no. II. 1.) To enjoy:

ex re fructus,

Hor. S. 1, 2, 79:

primas noctes tecum epulis,

Pers. 5, 43:

murmura vocis,

Stat. Th. 6, 165:

decus primae pugnae,

Sil. 4, 138; cf.:

nihil sibi ex ista laude centurio decerpit,

Cic. Marc. 2, 7:

mulieres,

Vulg. Baruch, 6, 27.—

(Acc. to carpo, no. II. 1.) To destroy:

quae (invidia) spes tantas decerpat,

Quint. 6 prooem. § 10; cf.:

illibatam virginitatem,

Sen. Contr. 1, 2 med.

dē-pasco, pāvi, pastum, 3, v. a., and dē-pascor, ci, 3, v. depon., to feed down, feed off.

Lit.

Of the shepherd:

si d. saepius voles, etc.,

Col. 2, 10, 31:

glandem immisso pecore depasco,

Dig. 10, 4, 9:

saltus,

Ov. F. 5, 283:

luxuriem segetum,

Verg. G. 1, 112.—

Of the cattle, to feed upon, eat up, consume.

Form depasco:

si haedi roscidas herbas depaverint,

Col. 7, 5, 21; Verg. G. 4, 539.—In the part. perf.:

saepes Hyblaeis apibus florem depasta salicti,

id. E. 1, 55;

segetes,

Plin. 18, 17, 45, § 161: altaria, poet. for that which is upon it, Verg. A. 5, 93.—

Form depascor:

papilio ceras depascitur,

Plin. 11, 19, 21, § 65:

miseros morsu depascitur artus (serpens),

Verg. A. 2, 215; Vulg. Exod. 22, 5.—In the part. perf., Claud. VI. Cons. Honor. 239; cf.: depastis juvencis, Auct. Laud. Herc. 77.—

Trop.

Depon.

To cull, select:

omnia nos itidem depascimur aurea dicta,

Lucr. 3, 12.—

To prune away, remove:

in summa ubertate (orationis) inest luxuries quaedam, quae stilo depascenda est,

Cic. de Or. 2, 23, 96.—

To destroy, waste:

veterem possessionem Academiae,

id. Leg. 1, 21, 55;

so of disease: artus depascitur arida febris,

Verg. G. 3, 458; imitated by Claud. in Rufin. 1, 302; id. Idyll. 3, 11.—

Rarely in the act. form:

et potuit Latium longo depascere bello?

Sil. 16, 681: in inferno positi sunt;

mors depascet eos,

Vulg. Psa. 48, 14 (cf. carpo, no. II. B. 2: decerpo, no. II. B. 2 al.).—The part. perf. in a pass. signif.:

ipsaque diris Frons depasta modis,

Sil. 6, 51:

depasti flammis scopuli,

id. 12, 153.