Lewis & Short

2. con-sĕro, sĕrŭi, sertum, 3 (perf. consevisti, Fronto, Ep. ad Ver. 8), v. a., to connect, entwine, tie, join, fit, bind into a whole (syn.: conecto, conjungo, contexo, etc.; class. in prose and poetry; most freq. in the signif. II. B., and in the histt.).

  1. I. In gen.
    1. A. Lit.
          1. (α) With acc. with or without abl.: lorica conserta hamis auroque, Verg. A. 3, 467; cf.: tegumen spinis, id. ib. 3, 594 (illigatum spinis, Serv.); cf. Tac. G. 17: monile margaritis gemmisque, * Suet. Galb. 18: vincula, quīs conserta erant vehicula, Curt. 9, 1, 17; cf.: conserta navigia, entangled, id. 4, 3, 18: scutis super capita consertis, overlapping, id. 5, 3, 23: rudis arbor conseritur (for navigating), Luc. 3, 512; cf. id. 4, 136.
          2. (β) With acc. and dat.: alium (truncum) alii quasi nexu conserunt, Curt. 6, 5, 15.
    2. B. Trop.: quid juvat nocti conseruisse diem? Ov. Am. 3, 6, 10: exodia conserta fabellis Atellanis, Liv. 7, 2, 11; v. exodium: virtutes consertae et inter se cohaerentes, Sen. Ep. 90, 3: ita ordo rerum tribus momentis consertus est, * Quint. 5, 10, 71: sermonem, to interchange words, converse, Curt. 8, 12, 5; Fronto l. l.
  2. II. In partic.
    1. A. To join, connect, unite together: teneros sinus, Tib. 1, 8, 36: femur femori, id. 1, 8, 26; cf.: latus lateri, Ov. H. 2, 58.
    2. B. Esp., to unite in hostility, for contest, to bring together; so most freq. manum or manus, to engage in close combat, to join hand to hand, to join battle: signa contulit, manum conseruit, magnas copias hostium fudit, Cic. Mur. 9, 20; so Plaut. Mil. 1, 1, 3; Sall. J. 50, 4; Nep. Dat. 8, 4; id. Ages. 3, 6; Liv. 21, 41, 4 al.: manum cum hoste, Varr. L. L. 6, § 64 Müll.; Cic. Att. 7, 20, 1; Nep. Hann. 4, 2: manus inter se, Sall. H. 1, 41, 19 Dietsch; Liv. 7, 40, 14; Ov. H. 12, 100: manus cum imparibus, Liv. 6, 12, 8: cum hoste manus, id. 21, 39, 3: consertis deinde manibus, id. 1, 25, 5: dextras, Stat. S. 1, 6, 60: pugnam, Liv. 21, 50, 1; cf. id. 21, 8, 7; Tac. A. 2, 10: pugnam inter se, Liv. 32, 10, 8: pugnam seni, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 9, 43: proelia, Verg. A. 2, 398; Liv. 5, 36, 5; Curt. 8, 13, 12: certamen, Liv. 35, 4, 2: bella, Val. Fl. 3, 31: bella bellis, Luc. 2, 442: acies, Sil. 1, 339; cf.: conserta acies, hand-to-hand fighting, Tac. A. 6, 35.
      Mid.: navis conseritur, enters the fight, Liv. 21, 50, 3: duo acerrimā pugnā conserti exercitus, Val. Max. 3, 2, 1.
      Rarely absol.: levis armatura ab lateribus cum levi armaturā, Liv. 44, 4, 6.
      1. 2. Trop.: haud ignotas belli artes inter se conserebant, Liv. 21, 1, 2.
      2. 3. Transf., of judicial controversy: manum in jure or ex jure conserere, to make a joint seizure (this was done by the litigant parties laying hands at the same time upon the thing in dispute, each one claiming it as his own): si qui in jure manum conserunt, XII. Tab. ap. Gell. 20, 10, 7: non ex jure manum consertum sed mage ferro rem repetunt, Enn. ib. § 4 (Ann. v. 276 Vahl.); cf. also Varr. L. L. 6, § 64 Müll., and Cic. Fam. 7, 13, 2: ibi ego te ex jure manum consertum voco, etc., I summon you in an action for possession, etc., a judic. formula in Cic. Mur. 12, 26; id. de Or. 1, 10, 41.
        Hence, * con-sertē, adv., from consertus, a, um (acc. to I. A.), not used as P. a., as if bound or fastened together, in connection: omnia necesse est conligatione naturali conserte contexteque fieri, Cic. Fat. 14, 32.