fossūra

fossūra, ae, f. [fodio], a digging (postAug., whereas fossio is quite class.).

Lit.:

plana fossura,

Col. 4, 14, 2; Pall. 10, 14, 2.—In plur.:

complanata juga fossuris montium,

Suet. Calig. 37:

puteorum,

Vitr. 5, 9, 8; Col. 4, 28, 2.—

Transf., concr., a pit:

summa fossura operiatur arundinibus,

Vitr. 8, 1, 4.

digging, delving, sapping, ditching

sulcus, a, um, adj., only ficus sulca, an unknown species of fig-tree, Col. 5, 10, 11.

sulcus, i, m. [Gr. holkos, from helkô], a furrow made by the plough (cf.: lira, porca): sulci appellantur, quā aratrum ducitur, vel sationis faciendae causā vel urbis condendae, vel fossura rectis lateribus, ubi arbores serantur: quod vocabulum quidam ex Graeco fictum, quia illi dicant holkon, Fest. p. 302 Müll.: quā aratrum vomere lacunam striam facit, sulcus vocatur: quod est inter duos sulcos elata terra, dicitur [p. 1797] porca, Varr. R. R. 1, 29, 3:

sulco vario ne ares,

Cato, R. R. 61, 1:

cum sulcus altius esset impressus,

Cic. Div. 2, 23, 50:

ducere... infodere sulcum,

Col. 2, 2, 27; Juv. 7, 48:

duci sarculo sulcum,

Plin. 18, 33, 76, § 327:

proscindere jugerum sulco,

id. 18, 19, 49, § 178:

sulco tenui arare,

id. 18, 18, 47, § 170:

sulcum patefacere aratro,

Ov. M. 3, 104:

sulcis committere semina,

Verg. G. 1, 223:

mandare hordea sulcis,

id. E. 5, 36:

telluri infindere sulcos,

id. ib. 4, 33:

semina longis Cerealia sulcis Obruere,

Ov. M. 1, 123:

herba Cerealibus obruta sulcis,

id. Tr. 3, 12, 11.—

Transf. (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose).

A ploughing:

hordeum altero sulco seminari debet,

Col. 2, 9, 15:

quarto,

id. 2, 12, 8:

quinto,

Plin. 18, 20, 49, § 181:

nono,

Plin. Ep. 5, 6, 10.—

Of things resembling a furrow.

A long, narrow trench, a ditch, Cato, R. R. 33, 4; 43, 1; Col. 2, 8, 3; Plin. 19, 4, 20, § 60; Verg. G. 2, 24; 2, 289; id. A. 1, 425 et saep.—

A rut, track, in gen.:

cursu rotarum saucia clarescunt nubila sulco, Claud. Cons. Prob. et Olymp. 102.—Esp., of the furrow cut by a vessel: infindunt sulcos,

Verg. A. 5, 142:

delere sulcos,

Stat. Th. 6, 415:

canebant aequora sulco,

Val. Fl. 3, 32.—Of a wrinkle of the skin, Mart. 3, 72, 4:

genarum,

Claud. in Eutr. 1, 110.—Of the trail of a meteor, Verg. A. 2, 697; Luc. 5, 562.—Of wounds:

in pectore,

Claud. Rapt. Prov. 3, 425.—Of the private parts of a woman, Lucr. 4, 1272; Verg. G. 3, 136; App. Anech. 16.