Lewis & Short

ex-ăro, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a., to plough or dig up (class.).

  1. I. Lit.: radices, Cato. R. R. 61; id. ap. Plin. 17, 18, 30, § 127; Plin. 18, 6, 8, § 46: sepulcra, Cic. Leg. 2, 23, 58: terminos (with deicere), Dig. 10, 1, 4, § 4: deum, puerum, Cic. Div. 2, 23, 51; 2, 38, 80.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. To raise, produce by tillage: tantum frumenti, ut, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 38; cf. Zumpt, ib. 2, 3, 47.
    2. B. In gen., to plough, till, cultivate, Varr. R. R. 1, 10, 1; Plin. 18, 3, 3, § 9: locum de integro, Col. 2, 18, 3: agrum, Pall. Aug. 1: viam publicam, Dig. 43, 10, 4; with effodere mala, i. e. to dig up the earth about them, Pall. Febr. 25, 14.
      Poet.: cum rugis vetus frontem senectus exaret, furrows, wrinkles, * Hor. Epod. 8, 4 (cf. aro).
    3. C. To write, note, set down something on tablets (used by Cic. only in his letters): undecimo die postquam a te discesseram, hoc literularum exaravi, Cic. Att. 12, 1; cf. id. ib. 13, 38; id. Fam. 12, 20 fin.: novum prooemium, id. Att. 16, 6 fin.: ad te harum exemplum in codicillis, id. Fam. 9, 26; cf.: binos codicillos, Suet. Oth. 10: id ipsum his versibus exaravi, etc., Plin. Ep. 7, 4, 5; cf.: librum tertium Aesopi stilo, Phaedr. 3, prol. 29: versus, Suet. Ner. 52; Vulg. Job, 19, 23.
    4. D. Latera, to flog severely, Amm. 15, 7, 5.