Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

ā-verto (arch. -vorto; in MSS. also abverto; cf. ab init.), ti, sum, 3, v. a., to turn something away from a place, to avert, turn off, remove, etc. (opp. adverto).

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen.
        1. a. Constr. aliquem ab or with the simple abl.; the limit designated by in with acc. (more rarely by ad): ab saxo avortit fluctus ad litus scapham, Plaut. Rud. 1, 2, 76: Jup. Te volo, uxor, conloqui. Quor ted avortisti? Alc. Est ita ingenium meum: Inimicos semper osa sum optuerier, id. Am. 3, 2, 18: (M. Lepidus) Antonio diadema Caesari imponente se avertit, Cic. Phil. 5, 14; id. Balb. 5, 11: aliquid ab oculis, id. N. D. 2, 56, 141: nos flumina arcemus, dirigimus, avertimus, turn off, id. ib. 2, 60, 152; so Liv. 41, 11, 3: quod iter ab Arari Helvetii averterant, had turned aside their march from Caes. B. G. 1, 16 et saep.: locis seminis ic tum, Lucr. 4, 1273: Italiā Teucrorum regem, Verg. A. 1, 42: a ceteris omnium in se oculos, Liv. 2, 5, 6: in comitiorum disceptationem ab lege certamen, id. 3, 24, 9: ab hominibus ad deos preces, id. 6, 20, 10: se alicui, instead of ab aliquo. Col. 6, 37, 10.
          And poet. with acc.: quo regnum Italiae Libycas averteret oras, Verg. A. 4, 106.
          With dat.: Quod mihi non patrii poterant avertere amici, Prop. 4, 24, 9; so Val. Fl. 3, 491.
          Also without an antecedent ab (since this is included in the verb) with in with acc.: in fugam classem, Liv 22, 19, 11: dissipatos in fugam, id. 34, 15, 2; hence absol.: mille acies avertit avertetque (sc. in fugam), put to flight, id. 9, 19, 17.
        2. b. Pass. in mid. signif. with the acc., in the Greek manner, to turn away from: equus fontes avertitur, Verg. G. 3, 499 (cf. the Gr. ἀποστρέφεσθαι τὸ ὕδωρ, and aversari): oppositas impasta avertitur herbas, Stat. Th. 6, 192; Petr. 124, 248.
        3. c. As v. n. avertere = se avertere, to turn one’s self away, to retire: ob eam causam huc abs te avorti, Plaut. Mil. 4, 2, 83: ecce avortit, id. ib. 2, 2, 50: dixit et avertens roseā cervice refulsit, Verg. A. 1, 402: tum prora avertit, id. ib. 1, 104: avertit et ire in Capitolium coepit, Gell. 4, 18, 4 al.
    2. B. To take away, drive away, carry off, steal, embezzle, to appropriate to one’s self: pecuniam publicam, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 4: compertum publicam pecuniam avertisse, Tac. H. 1, 53: aliquid domum tuam, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 19: praedam omnem domum avertebant, Caes. B. C. 3, 59: intellexistis innumerabilem frumenti numerum per triennium aversum a re publicā esse ereptumque aratoribus, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 69 fin.: auratam Colchis pellem, to carry off, Cat. 64, 5: quattuor a stabulis tauros, Verg. A. 8, 208: avertere praedas, id. ib. 10, 78: carā pisces avertere mensā, Hor. S. 2, 4, 37.
  2. II. Trop.
    1. A. To turn, divert a person from a course of action, purpose, etc.: accusandi terrores et minae populi opinionem a spe adipiscendi avertunt, Cic. Mur. 21: avertant animos a spe recuperandae arcis, Liv. 9, 24, 11: qui mentem optimi viri a defensione meae salutis averterant, Cic. Sest. 31: ut nec vobis averteretur a certamine animus, Liv. 1, 28, 5: animum a pietate, id. 7, 5, 7: aliquem ab incepto avertit, id. 23, 18, 9: a philosophiā, Suet. Ner. 52.
    2. B. Aliquem, to turn away from one in feeling, i. e. to make averse or disinclined to, to alienate, estrange: legiones abducis a Bruto. Quas? nempe eas, quas ille a C. Antonii scelere avertit et ad rem publicam suā auctoritate traduxit, Cic. Phil. 10, 3: ipse Pompeius totum se ab ejus (sc. Caesaris) amicitiā averterat, had quite alienated himself from, Caes. B. C. 1, 4: civitates ab alicujus amicitiā, id. ib. 3, 79: popularium animos, Sall. J. 111, 2: futurum, uti totius Galliae animi a se averterentur, Caes. B. G. 1, 20: nobis mentem deorum, Cat. 64, 406.
      Hence, āver-sus, a, um, P. a.
    1. A. Turned off or away: aversum hostem videre nemo potuit, turned away, i. e. turned in flight, Caes. B. G. 1, 26; hence, backwards, behind, back ( = a tergo; opp. adversus), distant: et adversus et aversus impudicus es, before and behind, Cic. de Or. 2, 63, 256: canities homini semper a priori parte capitis, tum deinde ab aversā, Plin. 11, 37, 47, § 131; 11, 52, 113, § 272: ne aversos nostros aggrederentur, fall upon our troops in the rear, Galba ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 30, 3: ne aversi ab hoste circumvenirentur, from behind, in the rear, Caes. B. G. 2, 26: aversos proterere, id. B. C. 2, 41: aversi vulnerantur, Auct. B. Alex. 30; 32: aversum ferro transfixit, Nep. Dat. 11, 5: aversos boves caudis in speluncam traxit, backwards, Liv. 1, 7, 5 (cf. Prop. 5, 9, 12: Aversos caudā traxit in antra boves): aversa hosti porta, Tac. A. 1, 66: scribit in aversā Picens epigrammata chartā, upon the back of the paper, Mart. 8, 62 (cf. Juv. 1, 6: liber scriptus in tergo), and so al.
      Trop.: milites aversi a proelio, withdrawn from the battle, Caes. B. C. 2, 12.
      Subst.: āversum, i, n., the hinder or back part, the back (as subst. only in the plur.): per aversa castrorum receptus est, Vell. 2, 63 Ruhnk.: per aversa urbis fugam dederat, Liv. 5, 29, 4: ad aversa insulae, id. 37, 27, 2: aversa montis, Plin. 4, 11, 18, § 41: aversa Indiae, the back or remoter parts of India, id. 37, 8, 33, § 110.
      So in adverb. phrase: in aversum, backwards: Cetera animalia in aversum posterioribus pedibus quam prioribus, Plin. 11, 45, 101, § 248 (Jan, in diversum): collum circum agit (lynx) in aversum, id. 11, 47, 107, § 256 (Jan, in aversum se; Sillig, in adversum).
    2. B. Disinclined, alienated, unfavorable, opposed, hostile, averse; constr. with ab, with dat., or absol.
          1. (α) With ab (so most frequently in Cicero): aversus a Musis, Cic. Arch. 9, 20: aversus a vero, id. Cat. 3, 9, 21: turbidi animorum motus, aversi a ratione, et inimicissimi mentis vitaeque tranquillae, id. Tusc. 4, 15, 34: Quintus aversissimo a me animo fuit, id. Att. 11, 5 fin.; Col. 11, 1, 14: aversissimus ab istis prodigiis sum, Sen. Ep. 50.
          2. (β) With dat.: aversus mercaturis, Hor. S. 2, 3, 107: vilicus aversus contubernio, Col. 12, 1, 2: defensioni aversior, Quint. 7, 1, 11 (but acc. to the MSS., adversior seems here to deserve the preference; so Halm; cf. Spald. and Zumpt ad h. l.).
          3. (γ) Absol.: aversa deae mens, Verg. A. 2, 170: aversa voluntas, id. ib. 12, 647: aversos soliti componere amicos, Hor. S. 1, 5, 29: aversus animus, Tac. H. 4, 80 et saep.: vultus aversior, Sen. Ira, 2, 24: aversi animis, Tac. A. 14, 26.
            Adv. not used.