Lewis & Short

pēs, pĕdis, m. [kindr. with Sanscr. pād, foot, from root pad, ire; Gr. ποδ-, ποῦς; Goth. fōt; old Germ. vuoz; Engl. foot], a foot of man or beast.

  1. I. Lit.: si pes condoluit, Cic. Tusc. 2, 22, 52: calcei apti ad pedem, id. de Or. 1, 54, 231: nec manus, nec pedes, nec alia membra, id. Univ. 6: pede tellurem pulsare, i. e. to dance, Hor. C. 1, 37, 1; cf.: alterno pede terram quatere, id. ib. 1, 4, 7; 4, 1, 27: pedis aptissima forma, Ov. Am. 3, 3, 7: aves omnes in pedes nascuntur, are born feet first, Plin. 10, 53, 74, § 149: cycnum pedibus Jovis armiger uncis Sustulit, Verg. A. 9, 564; cf. id. ib. 11, 723: pedem ferre, to go or come, id. G. 1, 11: si in fundo pedem posuisses, set foot, Cic. Caecin. 11, 31: pedem efferre, to step or go out, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 3, 19: qui pedem portā non extulit, Cic. Att. 8, 2, 4; 6, 8, 5: pedem portā non plus extulit quam domo suā, id. ib. 8, 2, 4: pedem limine efferre, id. Cael. 14, 34: pedem referre, revocare, retrahere, to go or come back, to return: profugum referre pedem, Ov. H. 15, 186; id. M. 2, 439.
    Said even of streams: revocatque pedem Tiberinus ab alto, Verg. A. 9, 125: retrahitque pedes simul unda relabens, id. ib. 10, 307; cf. infra, II. H.: pedibus, on foot, afoot: cum ingressus iter pedibus sit, Cic. Sen. 10, 34; Suet. Aug. 53.
    Esp. in phrase: pedibus ire, venire, etc.: pedibus proficisci, Liv. 26, 19: pedibus iter conficere, id. 44, 5: quod flumen uno omnino loco pedibus transire potest, Caes. B. G. 5, 18: (Caesar) pedibus Narbonem pervenit, id. B. C. 2, 21: ut neque pedibus aditum haberent, id. B. G. 3, 12 init.
    Rarely pede ire (poet. and late Lat.): quo bene coepisti, sic pede semper eas, Ov. Tr. 1, 9, 66: Jordanem transmiserunt pede, Ambros. in Psa. 118, 165, n. 16.
    Trop.: Bacchus flueret pede suo, i. e. wine unmixed with water, Auct. Aetn. 13; cf.: musta sub adducto si pede nulla fluant, Ov. P. 2, 9, 32, and II. H. infra.
    Pregn., by land: cum illud iter Hispaniense pedibus fere confici soleat: aut si quis navigare velit, etc., Cic. Vatin. 5, 12: seu pedibus Parthos sequimur, seu classe Britannos, Prop. 2, 20, 63 (3, 23, 5): ego me in pedes (conicio), take to my heels, make off, Ter. Eun. 5, 2, 5.
    Esp.: ad pedes alicui or alicujus, accidere, procidere, jacere, se abicere, se proicere, procumbere, etc., to approach as a suppliant, to fall at one’s feet: ad pedes omnium singillatim accidente Clodio, Cic. Att. 1, 14, 5: abjectā togā se ad generi pedes abiecit, id. ib. 4, 2, 4: rex procidit ad pedes Achillei, Hor. Epod. 17, 14: vos ad pedes lenonis proiecistis, Cic. Sest. 11, 26: filius se ad pedes meos prosternens, id. Phil. 2, 18, 45: tibi sum supplex, Nec moror ante tuos procubuisse pedes, Ov. H. 12, 186: cui cum se moesta turba ad pedes provolvisset, Liv. 6, 3, 4: ad pedes Caesaris provoluta regina, Flor. 4, 11, 9: (mater una) mihi ad pedes misera jacuit, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 49, § 129; cf.: amplecti pedes potui, Ov. M. 9, 605: complector, regina, pedes, Luc. 10, 89: servus a pedibus, a footman, lackey, Cic. Att. 8, 5, 1: sub pedibus, under one’s feet, i. e. in one’s power, Verg. A. 7, 100; Liv. 34, 32: sub pedibus esse or jacere, to be or lie under one’s feet, i. e. to be disregarded (poet.): sors ubi pessima rerum, Sub pedibus timor est, Ov. M. 14, 490: amicitiae nomen Re tibi pro vili sub pedibusque jacet, id. Tr. 1, 8, 16: pedem opponere, to put one’s foot against, i. e. to withstand, resist, oppose (poet.), id. P. 4, 6, 8: pedem trahere, to drag one’s foot, i. e. to halt, limp; said of scazontic verse, id. R. Am. 378: trahantur haec pedibus, may be dragged by the heels, i. e. may go to the dogs (class.): fratrem mecum et te si habebo, per me ista pedibus trahantur, Cic. Att. 4, 16, 10; id. Fam. 7, 32, 2: ante pedes esse or ante pedes posita esse, to lie before one’s feet, i. e. before one’s eyes, to be evident, palpable, glaring: istuc est sapere, non quod ante pedes modo est, Videre, sed etiam illa, quae futura sunt, Prospicere, Ter. Ad. 3, 3, 32: transilire ante pedes posita, et alia longe repetita sumere, Cic. de Or. 3, 40, 160: omni pede stare, i. e. to use every effort, make every exertion, Quint. 12, 9, 18: nec caput nec pes, neither head nor foot, beginning nor end, no part: nec caput nec pes sermonum apparet, Plaut. As. 3, 3, 139: garriet quoi neque pes neque caput conpareat, id. Capt. 3, 4, 81: tuas res ita contractas, ut, quemadmodum scribis, nec caput nec pedes, Curio ap. Cic. Fam. 7, 31, 2: ut nec pes nec caput uni Reddatur formae, Hor. A. P. 8: dixit Cato, eam legationem nec caput, nec pedes, nec cor habere, Liv. Epit. 50: pes felix, secundus, i. e. a happy or fortunate arrival: adi pede secundo, Verg. A. 8, 302: felix, Ov. F. 1, 514; cf.: boni pedis homo, id est cujus adventus afferat aliquid felicitatis, Aug. Ep. ad Max. Gram. 44.
    So esp. pes dexter, because it was of good omen to move the right foot first; temples had an uneven number of steps, that the same foot might touch the first step and first enter the temple, Vitr. 3, 3; cf. Petr. 30: quove pede ingressi? Prop. 3 (4), 1, 6.
    So the left foot was associated with bad omens; cf. Suet. Aug. 92 init.: pessimo pede domum nostram accessit, App. M. 6, 26, p. 184, 1; hence, dextro pede, auspiciously: quid tam dextro pede concipis, etc., Juv. 10, 5: pedibus pecunia compensatur, said proverbially of distant lands purchased at a cheap rate, but which it costs a great deal to reach, Cato ap. Cic. Fl. 29, 72: a pedibus usque ad caput, from head to foot, all over (late Lat.; cf.: ab imis unguibus usque ad verticem summum, Cic. Rosc. Com. 7, 20), Aug. in Psa. 55, 20; 90, 1, 2 et saep.; cf.: a vestigio pedis usque ad verticem, Ambros. Offic. Min. 2, 22, 114.
    1. B. In partic.
      1. 1. Milit. t. t.: descendere ad pedes, to alight, dismount, of cavalry, Liv. 9, 22: pedibus merere, to serve on foot, as a foot-soldier, id. 24, 18: ad pedes pugna ierat, they fought on foot, id. 21, 46: pedem conferre, to come to close quarters: collato pede rem gerere, id. 26, 39; Cic. Planc. 19, 48.
      2. 2. Publicist’s t. t.: pedibus ire in sententiam alicujus, to adopt one’s opinion, take sides with one: cum omnes in sententiam ejus pedibus irent, Liv. 9, 8, 13; 5, 9, 2.
      3. 3. In mal. part.: pedem or pedes tollere, extollere (ad concubitum), Mart. 10, 81, 4; 11, 71, 8; hence the lusus verbb. with pedem dare and tollere, Cic. Att. 2, 1, 5.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. A foot of a table, stool, bench, etc., Ter. Ad. 4, 2, 46: mensae sed erat pes tertius impar, Ov. M. 8, 661; cf.: pedem et nostrum dicimus, et lecti, et veli, ut carminis (v. in the foll.), Sen. Ben. 2, 34, 2: tricliniorum, Plin. 34, 2, 4, § 9: subsellii, Auct. Her. 4, 55, 68: pes argenteus (mensae), Juv. 11, 128.
    2. B. Pes veli, a rope attached to a sail for the purpose of setting it to the wind, a sheet: sive utrumque Juppiter Simul secundus incidisset in pedem, Cat. 4, 19: pede labitur aequo, i. e. before the wind, with the wind right aft, Ov. F. 3, 565: pedibus aequis, Cic. Att. 16, 6 init.; cf. also the passage quoted above from Sen. Ben. 2, 34, 2; and: prolato pede, transversos captare Notos, id. Med. 322.
      Hence, facere pedem, to veer out one sheet, to take advantage of a side wind, to haul the wind: una omnes fecere pedem; pariterque sinistros, Nunc dextros solvere sinus, Verg. A. 5, 830: prolatis pedibus, Plin. 2, 47, 48, § 128.
    3. C. The foot of a mountain (post-class.): Orontes imos pedes Casii montis praetermeans, Amm. 14, 8, 10 al.
    4. D. Ground, soil, territory (post-class.): in Caesariensis pede, Sol. 3, 2: omnis Africa Zeugitano pede incipit, id. 27, 1; cf.: quamvis angustum pedem dispositio fecit habitabilem, Sen. Tranq. An. 10, 4.
    5. E. The stalk or pedicle of a fruit, esp. of the grape, together with the husk: vinaceorum pes proruitur, Col. 12, 43; so id. 12, 36.
      Of the olive, Plin. 15, 1, 2, § 5: pes milvinus or milvi, the stalk or stem of the plant batis, Col. 12, 7.
      Hence, as a name for several plants: pedes gallinacei, a plant: Capnos trunca, quam pedes gallinaceos vocant, Plin. 25, 13, 98, § 155: pedes betacei, beetroots, Varr. R. R. 1, 27.
  3. F. Pedes navales, rowers, sailors, Plaut. Men. 2, 2, 75.
  4. G. The barrow of a litter, Cat. 10, 22.
  5. H. Poet., of fountains and rivers: inde super terras fluit agmine dulci, Quā via secta semel liquido pede detulit undas, Lucr, 5, 272; 6, 638: crepante lympha desilit pede, Hor. Epod. 16, 47: liquido pede labitur unda, Verg. Cul. 17: lento pede sulcat harenas Bagrada, Sil. 6, 140.
  6. K. A metrical foot: ad heroum nos dactyli et anapaesti et spondei pedem invitas, Cic. de Or. 3, 47, 82: pedibus claudere verba, to make verses, Hor. S. 2, 1, 28: musa per undenos emodulanda pedes, in hexameters and pentameters, Ov. Am. 1, 1, 30: inque suos volui cogere verba pedes, id. Tr. 5, 12, 34.
      1. 2. A kind of verse, measure: et pede, quo debent fortia bella geri, Ov. Ib. 646: Lesbius, Hor. C. 4, 6, 35.
  7. L. In music, time (postAug.), Plin. 29, 1, 5, § 6.
  8. M. A foot, as a measure of length (class.): ne iste hercle ab istā non pedem discedat, Plaut. As. 3, 3, 13: ab aliquo pedem discessisse, Cic. Deiot. 15, 42: pedem e villā adhuc egressi non sumus, id. Att. 13, 16, 1: pes justus, Plin. 18, 31, 74, § 317.
    Hence, transf.: pede suo se metiri, to measure one’s self by one’s own foot-rule, i. e. by one’s own powers or abilities, Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 98.
  9. N. Pedes, lice; v. pedis.
  10. O. The leg (late Lat.), in phrase: pedem frangere, Aug. Civ. Dei, 22, 22, 3; id. Serm. 273, 7.