Lewis & Short

lŏcus (old form stlocus, like stlis for lis, Quint. 1, 4, 16), i, m. (lŏcum, i, n., Inscr. ap. Grut. 129, 14; plur. loci, single places; loca, places connected with each other, a region; cf. Krebs, Antibarb. p. 666 sq., and v. infra), a place, spot.

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen.: adsedistis in festivo loco, i. e. the theatre, Plaut. Mil. 2, 1, 83: locum sibi velle liberum praeberier, ubi nequam faciat clam, id. Poen. 1, 1, 49; 3, 3, 44; cf. 3, 2, 25: omnes copias in unum locum convenire, Cic. Att. 8, 16, 2: Galli qui ea loca incolerent, Caes. B. G. 2, 4: locorum situm naturam regionis nosse, Liv. 22, 38: Romae per omnes locos, Sall. J. 32: facere alicui locum in turba, Ov. A. A. 2, 210: ex loco superiore agere, of an orator speaking from the rostra, or of a judge pronouncing judgment: de loco superiore dicere, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 42, § 102: ex aequo loco, of one speaking in the Senate or conversing with another: et ex superiore et ex aequo loco sermones habiti, id. Fam. 3, 8, 2: ex inferiore loco, to speak before a judge, id. de Or. 3, 6, 23: primus locus aedium, a dwelling on the ground-floor, Nep. praef. 6.
      A post, position: loco movere, to drive from a place or post, Ter. Phorm. prol. 32; so, loco deicere, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 30: loco cedere, to give way, abandon one’s post, retire, Sall. C. 9; Caes. B. G. 1, 15.
    2. B. In partic.
      1. 1. A place, seat, in the theatre, the circus, or the forum: Servi ne obsideant, liberis ut sit locus, room, seats, Plaut. Cas. prol. 23.
        Esp. the place assigned by the Senate to foreign ambassadors: locum ad spectandum dare, Cic. Mur. 35, 73; 34, 72; so Liv. 30, 17.
        Plur. loca, Liv. 34, 44, 5; Vell. 2, 32, 3; Suet. Claud. 21; id. Ner. 11; Plin. 8, 7, 7, § 21.
        But plur. loci, Tac. A. 15, 32.
      2. 2. So of the lodging, quarters, place of abode assigned to foreign ambassadors for their residence: locus inde lautiaque legatis praeberi jussa, Liv. 28, 39, 19; 30, 17, 14; 42, 26, 5; Symm. Ep. 4, 56; Sid. Ep. 8, 12: loca lautia, App. M. 3, p. 140, 30.
      3. 3. A piece or part of an estate: stricte loquendo locus non est fundus sed pars aliqua fundi, Dig. 50, 16, 60: locus certus ex fundo possideri potest, ib. 41, 2, 26.
      4. 4. A place, spot, locality; a country region: hau longe abesse oportet homines hinc; ita hic lepidust locus, Plaut. Rud. 1, 4, 35: nunc hoc ubi abstrudam cogito solum locum, id. Aul. 4, 6, 7: non hoc ut oppido praeposui, sed ut loco, Cic. Att. 7, 3, 10; Verg. A. 1, 530; Caes. B. G. 5, 12.
        Poet. of the inhabitants of a place, a neighborhood: numina vicinorum odit uterque locus, Juv. 15, 37.
        Of a place where a city once stood, a site: locus Pherae, Plin. 4, 5, 6, § 13: locus Buprasium, Hyrmine, id. ib.; cf. Ov. F. 2, 280.
        Plur. rarely loci: quos locos adiisti, Plaut. Trin. 4, 2, 86: locos tenere, Liv. 5, 35, 1: occupare, Sall. J. 18, 4; 76, 1; Lucr. 4, 509; Verg. A. 1, 306; 2, 28; Prop. 4 (5), 8, 22; Tac. A. 1, 61; 13, 36; Suet. Tib. 43.
        Usually loca: loca haec circiter, Plaut. Cist. 4, 2, 8: venisse in illa loca, Cic. Fam. 9, 2, 5; id. Fin. 5, 1, 2 sq.; Caes. B. G. 2, 4, 2; Lucr. 1, 373; 2, 146; Cat. 9, 7; 63, 3; Sall. J. 18, 11; 54, 3; Verg. G. 2, 140; id. A. 1, 51; 2, 495; Hor. C. 1, 22, 7; Tib. 4, 1, 97; Ov. M. 10, 29; Liv. 1, 1, 5; 1, 5, 2; 1, 6, 4 et saep.
      5. 5. In war or battle, a post, station (plur. loca): tum loca sorte legunt, Verg. A. 5, 132: loca jussa tenere, id. ib. 10, 238: loca servare, Amm. 25, 6, 14.
      6. 6. Loci and loca, of parts of the body: loci nervosi, Cels. 5, 26, 26.
        Esp.: muliebres, Varr. L. L. 5, 2, 15; and without adj., in females, the womb: si ea lotio locos fovebit, Cato, R. R. 157, 11: cum in locis semen insederit, Cic. N. D. 2, 51; Cels. 2, 8.
        Of animals, Col. 6, 27, 10.
        Of birds, Col. 8, 11, 8; Lucr. 14, 1246; Plin. 11, 37, 84, § 209; Cael. Aur. Acut. 3, 17: genitalia, Col. 7, 7, 4; cf. id. 8, 7, 2; 8, 11, 8; in males, Lucr. 4, 1034; 4, 1045.
      7. 7. Communis locus,
          1. (α) The place of the dead: qui nunc abierunt hinc in communem locum, Plaut. Cas. prol. 19.
          2. (β) A public place: Sthenius … qui oppidum non maximum maximis ex pecunia sua locis communibus monumentisque decoravit, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 46, § 112.
      8. 8. A burial-place, grave; very freq. in epitaphs; v. Inscr. Orell. 8; 4499; 4500 sq.
  2. II. Trop.
    1. A. A topic of discussion or thought; a matter, subject, point, head or division of a subject.
      1. 1. In gen.: cum fundamentum esset philosophiae positum in finibus bonorum, perpurgatus est is locus a nobis quinque libris, Cic. Div. 2, 1, 2: Theophrastus cum tractat locos ab Aristotele ante tractatos, id. Fin. 1, 2, 6: hic locus, de natura usuque verborum, id. Or. 48, 162: philosophiae noti et tractati loci, id. ib. 33, 118: ex quattuor locis in quos honesti naturam vimque divisimus, id. Off. 1, 6, 18; id. Inv. 2, 3, 11; 2, 5, 16; 2, 8, 26 et saep.; Quint. 2, 4, 27; 2, 11, 6; 5, 8, 4; Juv. 6, 245; Tac. Or. 31.
      2. 2. Esp.: loci, the grounds of proof, the points on which proofs are founded or from which they are deduced: cum pervestigare argumentum aliquod volumus, locos nosse debemus, Cic. Top. 2, 7; id. de Or. 1, 13, 56; 3, 55, 210: traditi sunt ex quibus argumenta ducantur duplices loci, id. Or. 35; so sing.: itaque licet definire, locum esse argumenti sedem, id. Top. 2.
      3. 3. Esp.: loci communes, general arguments, which do not grow out of the particular facts of a case, but are applicable to any class of cases: pars (argumentorum) est pervagatior et aut in omnis ejusdem generis aut in plerasque causas adcommodata: haec ergo argumenta, quae transferri in multas causas possunt, locos communis nominamus, Cic. Inv. 2, 14, 47 sq.; cf. the passage at length; id. ib. 2, 16, 50 sq.; 2, 18, 56; Auct. Her. 3, 8, 15; Quint. 2, 1, 9; 3, 1, 12; 5, 1, 3; 5, 13, 57 al.
        Sing.: vix ullus est tam communis locus, qui possit cohaerere cum causa, nisi aliquo proprio quaestionis vinculo copulatus, Quint. 2, 4, 30: locus, for communis locus, id. 4, 2, 117; 5, 7, 32.
    2. B. A passage in a book or author; plur. loci (Zumpt, Gram. § 99): locos quosdam transferam, Cic. Fin. 1, 3, 7; Quint. 1, 1, 36; 1, 4, 4; 5, 13, 42; 6, 3, 36; Tac. Or. 22: locos Lucreti plurimos sectare, Gell. 1, 21, 7; but rarely loca: loca jam recitata, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 223; Amm. 29, 2, 8.
    3. C. Room, opportunity, cause, occasion, place, time, etc., for any thing: et cognoscendi et ignoscendi dabitur peccati locus, Ter. Heaut. 2, 1, 6: avaritia paululum aliquid loci rationi et consilio dedisset, Cic. Quint. 16, 53: de tuo in me animo iniquis secus existimandi videris nonnihil dedisse loci, to have given occasion, cause, reason, id. Fam. 3, 6, 6: dare suspicioni locum, id. Cael. 4, 9: dare locum dubitationis, id. Balb. 6, 16; Val. Fl. 4, 451: locum habere, to find a place: qui dolorem summum malum dicit, apud eum, quem locum habet fortitudo? Cic. Off. 3, 33, 117: in hoc altero dicacitatis quid habet ars loci? id. de Or. 2, 54, 219; so, locus est alicui rei: legi Aquiliae locus est adversus te, Dig. 9, 2, 27; cf.: huic edicto locus est, ib. 37, 10, 6; cf.: meritis vacat hic tibi locus, Verg. A. 11, 179: cum defendendi negandive non est locus, Quint. 5, 13, 8: quaerendi, id. 3, 8, 21.
      Also in the sense of there is place for any thing, it finds acceptance: in poëtis non Homero soli locus est aut Archilocho, etc., Cic. Or. 1, 4: si in mea familiaritate locus esset nemini nisi, etc., id. Planc. 33, 82: maledicto nihil loci est, id. Mur. 5, 12: locum non relinquere, to leave no room for, not to admit, to exclude: vita turpis ne morti quidem honestae locum relinquit, id. Quint. 15, 49; so, nec precibus nostris nec admonitionibus relinquit locum, id. Fam. 1, 1, 2: nancisci locum, to find occasion: nactus locum resecandae libidinis, id. Att. 1, 18, 2: valde gaudeo, si est nunc ullus gaudendi locus, id. ib. 9, 7, 6.
    4. D. In aliquo loco esse, to be in any place, position, situation, condition, state, relation: si ego in istoc siem loco, dem potius aurum, quam, etc., position, place, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 9, 116: tanta ibi copia venustatum aderat, in suo quaeque loco sita munde, id. Poen. 5, 4, 8: in uxoris loco habere, Ter. Heaut. 1, 1, 52: in liberūm loco esse, Cic. de Or. 2, 49, 200; id. Planc. 11, 28; id. Brut. 1, 1; but more freq. without in: is si eo loco esset, negavit se facturum, id. Fam. 4, 4, 4: eodem loco esse, Sen. Ben. 3, 8, 2; 7, 14, 6.
      Esp. with a gen.: parentis loco esse, Cic. Div. in Caecil. 19, 61: hostium loco esse, Liv. 2, 4, 7: fratris loco esse, Cic. Fam. 5, 3, 1; 7, 3, 6; Quint. 6, 1, 7: nec vero hic locus est, ut, etc., not the proper occasion, Cic. Tusc. 4, 1, 1; id. Rosc. Am. 12, 33.
      Hence, loco or in loco, at the right place or time, seasonably, suitably: posuisti loco versus Attianos, Cic. Fam. 9, 16, 4: epistolae non in loco redditae, id. ib. 11, 16, 1: dulce est desipere in loco, Hor. C. 4, 12, 28; so, locis: non insurgit locis? non figuris gaudet? Quint. 12, 10, 23: quo res summa loco? in what condition? Verg. A. 2, 322: quo sit fortuna loco, id. ib. 9, 723: quo sit Romana loco res, Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 25: quo tua sit fortuna loco, Stat. Th. 7, 558: missis nuntiis, quo loco res essent, Liv. 2, 47, 5: primo loco, in the first place, first in order, Juv. 5, 12.
      Freq. as a partit. gen.: quo loci for quo loco, Cic. Att. 8, 10; id. Div. 2, 66: eo loci for eo loco, id. Sest. 31, 68; Tac. A. 15, 74: eodem loci, Suet. Calig. 53: ubi loci, Plaut. Merc. 5, 4, 26: ibidem loci, id. Cist. 3, 1, 53: interea loci for interea, meanwhile, Ter. Eun. 1, 2, 46: postea loci, after that, afterwards, Sall. J. 102: ubicumque locorum, Hor. Ep. 1, 3, 34: adhuc locorum, hitherto, Plaut. Capt. 2, 3, 25: ad id locorum, to that time, till then, hitherto, Sall. J. 63, 6; 73, 2; Liv. 22, 38, 12: post id locorum, after that, thereupon, Plaut. Cas. 1, 32: inde loci, since then, Lucr. 5, 437.
    5. E. Place, position, degree, rank, order, office, of persons or things: summus locus civitatis, Cic. Clu. 55, 150: tua dignitas suum locum obtinebit, id. Fam. 3, 9, 2: quem locum apud ipsum Caesarem obtinuisti? id. Phil. 2, 29, 71: res erat et causa nostra eo jam loci, ut, etc., id. Sest. 31, 68: Socrates voluptatem nullo loco numerat, id. Fin. 2, 28, 90: codem loco habere, quo, etc., id. Prov. Cons. 17, 41; Caes. B. G. 1, 26, 6; 7, 77, 3; id. B. C. 1, 84, 2: indignantes eodem se loco esse, quo, etc., Liv. 42, 37, 8: sed esto, neque melius quod invenimus esse, neque par, est certe proximus locus, Quint. 10, 5, 6: erat ordine proximus locus, id. 7, 3, 36: humili loco, id. 4, 2, 2.
      Plur. loca: ut patricii recuperarent duo consularia loca, Liv. 10, 15, 8: quinque augurum loca, id. 10, 8, 3; 42, 34, 15: omnia loca obtinuere, ne cui plebeio aditus esset, id. 4, 57, 11; Tac. A. 2, 55: Vesta loca prima tenet, Ov. F. 6, 304.
      Esp. of birth: infimo loco natus, Cic. Fl. 11, 24: esse summo loco natus, id. Planc. 25, 60: Tanaquil summo loco nata, Liv. 1, 34.
  3. F. Loco, adverbially, in the place of, instead of, for: criminis loco putant esse, quod vivam, Cic. Fam. 7, 3, 6: haec filium suum sibi praemii loco deposcit, id. Inv. 2, 49, 144.