to vibrate from one side to the other

dŭbĭto, āvi, ātum, 1, v. freq. n. and a. [for duhibitare, freq. from duhibeo, i. e. duohabeo (cf. habitare from habeo), to have or hold, as two, v. dubius; cf. also Gr. doiazô from doioi; Germ. zweifeln from zwei], to vibrate from one side to the other, to and fro, in one's opinions or in coming to a conclusion (freq. in all periods and sorts of composition; in class. prose usually with negations or in a negative interrogation, as: non dubito, haud dubito, quis dubitat? etc.

To waver in opinion or judgment, to be uncertain, to be in doubt, to doubt, question.

Absol. (rare but class.): ne vinolenti quidem quae faciunt eadem approbatione faciunt qua sobrii;

dubitant, haesitant, revocant se interdum,

Cic. Ac. 2, 17, 52; cf. id. ib. 2, 23, 72:

et interrogamus et dubitamus et affirmamus,

Quint. 6, 3, 70; cf. id. 10, 1, 19; 10, 3, 19:

Livius frequentissime dubitat,

id. 2, 4, 19; 9, 2, 20: vivo equidem, ne dubita;

nam vera vides,

Verg. A. 3, 316:

ut jam liceat una comprehensione omnia complecti non dubitantemque (= sine ulla dubitatione) dicere,

Cic. Fin. 5, 9, 26; id. Fam. 5, 16, 4 Madv.; so id. Div. 1, 55, 125.—

With de (class.):

de indicando dubitat,

Cic. Sull. 18, 52; id. Fam. 12, 17; Quint. 1, 10, 29; 4, 5, 13.—With a negation:

nec vero de hoc quisquam dubitare posset, nisi, etc.,

Cic. Tusc. 1, 30, 73:

de aliqua re,

id. N. D. 1, 8:

de divina ratione,

id. ib. 2, 39, 99:

de tua erga me voluntate,

id. Fam. 13, 45 fin.; cf. id. Att. 12, 26:

de ejus fide,

Caes. B. G. 7, 21, 1: cf. id. ib. 7, 77, 10; 1, 40 fin.:

de carminibus,

Quint. 10, 5, 4:

de ultima illa (parte),

id. 12, 2, 10: de se, Pompei ap. Cic. Att. 8, 12 A et saep.— Pass. impers.:

de armis dubitatum est,

Cic. Caecin. 13, 38:

de judicio Panaetii dubitari non potest,

id. Off. 3, 3; so, de auctore, Quint. 7, 2, 8:

de hac (virtute) nihil dubitabitur,

id. 2, 20, 7.—

With acc. (in class. prose only with a neutr. pron.):

haec non turpe est dubitare philosophos, quae ne rustici quidem dubitant?

Cic. Off. 3, 19, 77; Quint. 2, 17, 2; Plaut. Ps. 2, 1, 2; Ov. H. 17, 37; id. M. 6, 194; id. Tr. 2, 331.—In the pass.:

causa prorsus, quod dubitari posset, nihil habebat,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 22; cf. id. ib. 28; Liv. 5, 3:

dubitati tecta parentis,

Ov. M. 2, 20:

sidera,

Stat. S. 1, 4, 2:

ne auctor dubitaretur,

Tac. A. 14, 7; cf. infra, e:

dicta haud dubitanda,

Verg. A. 3, 170.—

With an interrog. pron. (good prose, but rare):

ubi tu dubites, quid sumas potissimum,

Ter. Ph. 2, 2, 29:

non dubito, quid nobis agendum putes,

Cic. Att. 10, 1, 2; id. Fam. 11, 17, 2; 15, 9; Caes. B. C. 2, 32, 10:

cur dubitas, quid de re publica sentias?

Cic. Rep. 1, 38 fin.; cf. id. ib. 3, 17 fin.; id. de Imp. Pomp. 16 fin. —

With interrog. particles (very freq. and class.):

si me non improbissime tractasset, dubitassem fortasse utrum, etc.,

Cic. Att. 16, 15, 1:

desinite dubitare, utrum sit utilius, etc.... an, etc.,

Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 89; cf. impers., id. Att. 4, 15, 7; Liv. 5, 3:

honestumne factu sit an turpe dubitant,

Cic. Off. 1, 3, 9:

dubitavi, hos homines emerem, an non emerem,

Plaut. Capt. 2, 3, 95; cf. Sall. J. 74, 2; Hor. C. 1, 12, 35:

recte necne, etc.,

id. Ep. 2, 1, 80:

licet et dubitare num quid nos fugerit,

Quint. 6, 1, 3:

dubito, num, etc.,

Plin. Ep. 6, 27, 1; Tac. H. 2, 37;

de L. Bruto fortasse dubitarim, an, etc.,

Cic. Tusc. 4, 22, 50 et saep.—Cf. respecting the expression dubito an, the art. an, II., and Zumpt, Gramm. § 354.— Poet. in pass. (cf. supra, g):

an dea sim, dubitor,

Ov. M. 6, 208.—

Non dubito, quin (very freq. and class.):

non hercle dubito, quin tibi ingenio nemo praestiterit,

Cic. Rep. 1, 23; id. Div. 1, 57, 129; id. de Sen. 10, 31; id. Att. 6, 2, 3; id. Fam. 13, 73 fin.; id. Verr. 2, 1, 40: numquid tu dubitas quin ego nunc perpetuo perierim? Have you a doubt? etc., Ter. Eun. 5, 8, 13; Caes. B. G. 1, 17, 4; 1, 31, 15; Quint. 12, 1, 42; Suet. Tib. 17; Ov. H. 17, 11; 245; id. Tr. 5, 7, 59 et saep.; cf. pass. impers.:

dubitari (non) potest, quin, etc.,

Cic. Ac. 2, 23 fin.; id. Off. 3, 2, 9; Quint. 10, 2, 1:

dubitari potest quin usque eo eicienda sit,

Sen. Contr. 1, 3, 1:

illud cave dubites, quin, etc.,

Cic. Fam. 5, 20, 6;

quid dubitas, quin sit, etc.,

Plaut. Aul. 2, 1, 42;

so in an interrog.,

id. Poen. 1, 1, 55; 4, 2, 59; Quint. 7, 6, 10; cf. Cic. N. D. 2, 38, 97; Caes. B. G. 7, 38, 8.—

With acc. and inf. (freq. only since the Aug. period, and in gen. only negatively; not found in Plaut., Ter., or Cic.;

but usual in Nepos): neque humorem dubitavi aurasque perire,

Lucr. 5, 249:

gratos tibi esse qui de me rumores afferuntur, non dubito,

Cic. Fil. Fam. 16, 21, 2 (cf., on the contrary, §

7: noli dubitare, quin te sublevaturus sim): ignorabant aut dubitabant animas hominum immortales esse,

Lact. 6, 3, 5: non dubito, fore plerosque qui, etc., Nep. praef. § 1; id. Milt. 3, 6; id. Lys. 3, 5; id. Alcib. 9, 5; id. Ages. 3, 1; id. Eum. 2, 3; id. Hann. 11, 2; Liv. 2, 64; 22, 55 Drak. et saep.; Quint. 3, 7, 5; 5, 10, 76; 9, 4, 114; Suet. Claud. 35 et saep.; cf.

in an interrog.: an est quisquam qui dubitet, tribunos offensos esse?

Liv. 5, 3; so,

quis dubitat,

Quint. 9, 4, 68; 130; 10, 1, 81. — Pass. impers.: an dubitabitur, ibi partes oratoris esse praecipuas? id. prooem. § 12. —Affirm.: piraticam ut musicam, fabricam dici adhuc dubitabant mei praeceptores, Quint. 8, 3, 34.—

Transf., of inan. and abstr. subjects, to be uncertain, doubtful:

si tardior manus dubitet,

Quint. 5, 10, 124:

suspensa ac velut dubitans oratio,

id. 10, 7, 22:

aut vincere aut, si fortuna dubitabit (= adversabit), etc.,

Liv. 21, 44 fin.:

nec mox fama dubitavit, cum, etc.,

Flor. 1, 1, 2.—

Meton., to reflect upon, to ponder, consider, deliberate:

in utramque partem cogitare, deliberare, etc. (very rare): haec dum dubitas, menses abierunt decem,

Ter. Ad. 4, 5, 57:

restat, judices, ut hoc dubitemus, uter, etc.,

Cic. Rosc. Am. 31, 88:

percipe porro, quid dubitem,

Verg. A. 9, 191:

dubitaverat Augustus Germanicum rei Romanae imponere,

had considered whether he should, Tac. A. 4, 57.

To waver in coming to a conclusion, to be irresolute; to hesitate, delay.

With inf. (so most commonly): non dubitaverim [p. 614] me gravissimis tempestatibus obvium ferre, Cic. Rep. 1, 4;

so with a negation,

id. ib. 1, 15; id. Lael. 1; id. de Or. 1, 40 et saep.; Caes. B. G. 2, 23, 2: flumen transire, 6, 8, 1; id. B. C. 1, 71, 2; 2, 33, 2 and fin.; Verg. A. 7, 311; 8, 614 et saep.:

quid dubitamus pultare atque huc evocare ambos foras?

Plaut. Bacch. 5, 1, 29;

so in an interrog.,

id. Mil. 4, 2, 17; id. Ps. 2, 2, 30; id. Poen. 3, 5, 44; Caes. B. C. 2, 34, 4; Quint. 12, 5, 3; 12, 10, 63; Verg. A. 6, 807 al.—Very seldom affirmatively:

quod ea illi nubere dubitabat,

Sall. C. 15, 2:

accusat fratrem, quod dubitet omnia quae ad beatam vitam pertineant ventre metiri,

Cic. N. D. 1, 40, 113:

dubitat agnoscere matrem,

Stat. Achill. 1, 250:

si forte dubitaret quod afferretur accipere,

Curt. 4, 5:

isdem mandatum ut occiderent, si venire dubitaret,

id. 10, 8.—Ellipt.:

quod dubitas, ne feceris,

Plin. Ep. 1, 18, 5.—

Non dubito quin (rare in Cic. and Caes.):

nemo dubitabat, quin, etc.,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 13; id. Mil. 23, 63; id. Agr. 2, 26, 69:

tum dubitandum non existimavit, quin proficisceretur,

Caes. B. G. 2, 2, 5; id. B. C. 3, 71, 1; cf.:

nolite dubitare, quin huic uni credatis omnia,

Cic. de Imp. Pomp. 23, 68;

and in an interrog.: dubitabitis, judices, quin? etc.,

id. Fl. 17, 40; id. de Imp. Pomp. 16, 49.—

Absol. (rare):

te neque umquam dubitasse, neque timuisse,

Caes. B. G. 1, 41, 3:

sed mora damnosa est, nec res dubitare remittit,

Ov. M. 11, 377:

quid igitur ego dubito?

Plaut. Am. 1, 2, 283;

so in an interrog.,

id. Men. 5, 7, 6; Caes. B. G. 5, 44, 3; Verg. A. 9, 12:

magnitudine supplicii dubitantes cogit,

Caes. B. G. 7, 4, 9; id. ib. 7, 63, 3; Sall. C. 28, 1 al.:

dubitantia lumina,

failing, Sil. 10, 154. —Hence,

dŭbĭtanter, adv.

Doubtingly:

sine ulla affirmatione, dubitanter unum quodque dicemus,

Cic. Inv. 2, 3, 10.—

Hesitatingly, with hesitancy (very rare):

illum verecunde et dubitanter recepisse,

Cic. Brut. 22, 87; cf. Asin. Pollio ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 31, 2.—

dŭbĭ-tātim, adv. (i. q. dubitanter, 2.), hesitatingly, with hesitation (only in the foll. passages), Sisenn. ap. Non. 98, 33; so Cael. Ann. ib.