Lewis & Short

ab-sum, āfui (better than abfui), āfŭtārus (aforem, afore), v. n., in its most general signif., to be away from, be absent.

  1. I. In gen.
    1. A. Absol. without designating the distance (opp. adsum): num ab domo absum? Plaut. Ep. 5, 2, 16: me absente atque insciente, id. Trin. 1, 2, 130: domini ubi absunt, are not at home, not present, Ter. Eun. 3, 5, 53: facile aerumnam ferre possum, si inde abest injuria, Caecil. ap. Non. 430, 18.
    2. B. With reference to the distance in space or time; which is expressed either by a definite number, or, in gen., by the advs. multum, paulum (not parum, v. below) longe, etc.: edixit, ut ab urbe abesset milia pass. ducenta, Cic. Sest. 12, 29: castra, quae aberant bidui, id. Att. 5, 16: hic locus aequo fere spatio ab castris Ariovisti et Caesaris aberat, Caes. B. G. 1, 43: haud longe abesse oportet, he ought not to be far hence, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 166: legiones magnum spatium aberant, Caes. B. G. 2, 17: menses tres abest, Ter. Heaut. 1, 1, 66: haud permultum a me aberit infortunium, Ter. Heaut. 4, 2, 1; Cic. Fam. 2, 7.
      With the simple abl. for ab: paulumque cum ejus villa abessemus, Cic. Ac. 1, 1 Görenz; but, ab ejus villa, B. and K.; cf.: nuptā abesse tuā, Ov. R. Am. 774.
      With inter: nec longis inter se passibus absunt, Verg. A. 11, 907.
      With prope, propius, proxime, to denote a short distance: nunc nobis prope abest exitium, is not far from, Plaut. Aul. 2, 3, 8; so with est: prope est a te Deus, tecum est, Sen. Ep. 41: loca, quae a Brundisio propius absunt, quam tu, biduum, Cic. Att. 8, 14: quoniam abes propius, since you are nearer, id. ib. 1, 1: existat aliquid, quod … absit longissime a vero, id. Ac. 2, 11, 36; so id. Deiot. 13; Caes. ap. Cic. Att. 9, 16 al.
      Hence the phrase: tantum abest, ut—ut, so far from —that, etc. (Zumpt, § 779), the origin of which is evident from the following examples from Cic. (the first two of which have been unjustly assailed): id tantum abest ab officio, ut nihil magis officio possit esse contrarium, Off. 1, 14 (with which comp. the person. expression: equidem tantum absum ab ista sententia, ut non modo non arbitrer … sed, etc., id. de Or. 1, 60, 255): tantum abest ab eo, ut malum mors sit, ut verear, ne, etc., id. Tusc. 1, 31, 76: ego vero istos tantum abest ut ornem, ut effici non possit, quin eos oderim, so far am I from—that, id. Phil. 11, 14; sometimes etiam or quoque is added to the second clause, Lentul. ap. Cic. Fam. 12, 15, 2; Suet. Tib. 50; more rarely contra, Liv. 6, 31, 4. Sometimes the second ut is left out: tantum afuit, ut inflammares nostros animos: somnum isto loco vix tenebamus, Cic. Brut. 80, 278; on the contrary, once in Cic. with a third ut: tantum abest ut nostra miremur, ut usque eo difficiles ac morosi simus, ut nobis non satisfaciat ipse Demosthenes, Or. 29, 104.
  2. II. Hence,
    1. A. To be away from any thing unpleasant, to be freed or free from: a multis et magnis molestiis abes, Cic. Fam. 4, 3: a culpa, id. Rosc. Am. 20: a reprehensione temeritatis, Planc. ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 23.
    2. B. To be removed from a thing by will, inclination, etc.; to be disinclined to (syn. abhorreo)’ a consilio fugiendi, Cic. Att. 7, 24: ab istis studiis, id. Planc. 25: ceteri a periculis aberant, kept aloof from, avoided, Sall. C. 6, 3. toto aberant bello, Caes. B. G. 7, 63.
    3. C. To be removed from a thing in regard to condition or quality, i. e. to be different from, to differ = abhorrere abest a tua virtute et fide, Brut. et Cass. ap. Cic. Fam. 11, 2: istae κολακεῖαι non longe absunt a scelere, id. Att. 13, 30: haec non absunt a consuetudine somniorum, id. Divin. 1, 21, 42.
      Since improvement, as well as deterioration, may constitute the ground of difference, so absum may, according to its connection, designate the one or the other: nullā re longius absumus a naturā ferarum, in nothing are we more elevated above the nature of the brute, Cic. Off. 1, 16, 50; so also the much-contested passage, Cic. Planc. 7, 17: longissime Plancius a te afuit, i. e. valde, plurimis suffragiis, te vicit, was far from you in the number of votes, i. e. had the majority; v. Wunder ad Planc. proleg. p. 83 sq.; on the other hand, to be less, inferior: longe te a pulchris abesse sensisti, Cic. Fragm. ap. Non. 339, 23: multum ab eis aberat L. Fufius, id. Brut. 62, 222; so Hor. A. P. 370.
    4. D. Not to be suitable, proper, or fit for a thing: quae absunt ab forensi contentione, Cic. Or. 11, 37: ab principis personā, Nep. Ep. 1, 2.
    5. E. To be wanting, = desum, Pac. ap. Cic. Fin. 5, 11, 31 (Trag. Rel. p. 122 Rib.): unum a praeturā tuā abest, one thing is wanting to your praetorship, Plaut. Ep. 1, 1, 25: quaeris id quod habes; quod abest non quaeris, Ter. Heaut. 5, 4, 16; cf. Lucr. 3, 970 and 1095.
      After Cicero, constr. in this signif. with dat.: quid huic abesse poterit de maximarum rerum scientiā? Cic. de Or. 1, 11, 48: abest enim historia litteris nostris, history is yet wanting to our literature, id. Leg. 2, 5.
      So esp. in the poets: donec virenti canities abest morosa, Hor. C. 1, 9, 17; 3, 24, 64; Ov. M. 14, 371.
      Hence the phrase non multum (neque multum), paulum, non (haud) procul, minimum, nihil abest, quin. not much, little, nothing is wanting that (Zumpt, Gr. § 540); but not parum, since parum in good classical authors does not correspond in meaning with non multum, but with non satis (v. parum): neque multum abesse ab eo, quin, etc., Caes. B. G. 5, 2, 2; and absol.: neque multum afuit quin, id. B. C. 2, 35, 4: paulumque afuit quin, ib. § 2: legatos nostros haud procul afuit quin violarent, Liv. 5, 4 fin.: minimum afuit quin periret, was within a little of, Suet. Aug. 14: nihil afore credunt quin, Verg. A. 8, 147 al.
  3. F. Abesse alicui or ab aliquo, to be wanting to any one, to be of no assistance or service to (opp. adsum): ut mirari Torquatus desinat, me, qui Antonio afuerim, Sullam defendere, Cic. Sull. 5: facile etiam absentibus nobis (without our aid) veritas se ipsa defendet, id. Ac. 2, 11, 36: longe iis fraternum nomen populi Romani afuturum, Caes. B. G. 1, 36. So also Cic. Planc. 5, 13: et quo plus intererat, eo plus aberas a me, the more I needed your assistance, the more you neglected me, v. Wunder ad h. l.; cf. also Sall. C. 20 fin.
  4. G. Cicero uses abesse to designate his banishment from Rome (which he would never acknowledge as such): qui nullā lege abessem, Cic. Sest. 34, 37; cf.: discessus.
    Hence, absens, entis (gen. plur. regul. absentium; absentum, Plaut. Stich. 1, 1, 5), P. a., absent (opp. praesens).
    1. A. In gen.: vos et praesentem me curā levatis et absenti magna solatia dedistis, Cic. Brut. 3, 11; so id. Off. 3, 33, 121; id. Verr. 2, 2, 17: quocirca (amici) et absentes adsunt et egentes abundant, id. Lael. 7, 23: ut loquerer tecum absens, cum coram id non licet, id. Att. 7, 15: me absente, id. Dom. 3; id. Cael. 50: illo absente, id. Tull. 17; id. Verr. 2, 60: absente accusatore, id. ib. 2, 99 al.
      Sup.: mente absentissimus, Aug. Conf. 4, 4.
      Of things (not thus in Cic.): Romae rus optas, absentem rusticus urbem tollis ad astra, Hor. S. 2, 7, 28; so, Rhodus, id. Ep. 1, 11, 21: rogus, Mart. 9, 77, 8: venti, Stat. Th. 5, 87: imagines rerum absentium, Quint. 6, 2, 29: versus, Gell. 20, 10.
    2. B. In partic.
      1. 1. In conversat. lang.
          1. (α) Praesens absens, in one’s presence or absence: postulo ut mihi tua domus te praesente absente pateat, Ter. Eun. 5, 8, 29.
          2. (β) Absente nobis turbatumst, in our absence (so also: praesente nobis, v. praesens), Ter. Eun. 4, 3, 7; Afran. ap. Non. 76, 19 (Com. Rel. p. 165 Rib.).
      2. 2. In polit. lang., not appearing in public canvassings as a competitor: deligere (Scipio) iterum consul absens, Cic. Rep. 6, 11; so Liv. 4, 42, 1; 10, 22, 9.
      3. 3. = mortuus, deceased, Plaut. Cas. prol. 20; Vitr. 7, praef. § 8.
      4. 4. Ellipt.: absens in Lucanis, absent in Lucania, i. e. absent and in Lucania, Nep. Hann. 5, 3; so id. Att. 8, 6.