Lewis & Short

pŭto, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. [root pu, to cleanse; whence putus, puteus, purus, etc.], to clean, cleanse (in the lit. sense very rare; in the trop. very freq.).

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen.: vellus lavare ac putare, Varr. R. R. 2, 2, 18: pensa lana putata, Titin. ap. Non. 369, 22: dolia, Cato, R. R. 39, 1 dub. (al. picare): aurum quoque putatum dici solet, id est expurgatum, Paul. ex Fest. s. v. putus, p. 216 Müll.
    2. B. In partic., to trim, prune, or lop trees or vines: vineas arboresque falce putare, Cato, R. R. 32 init.; 33, 1: vitem, Verg. G. 2, 407; Just. 43, 4, 2: parcendum vitibus et ideo anguste putandum, Col. 4, 24, 21; id. Arb. 10, 1; Pall. 3, 12, 1; cf.: putatae vites et arbores, quod decisis impedimentis remanerent purae, Paul. ex Fest. p. 216 Müll.; so, too, in the foll., the passage from Gell. 6, 5, 6: olivetum, Cato, R. R. 44: arborem latius, strictius, Pall. 1, 6: vineam, Vulg. Lev. 25, 3; id. Isa. 5, 6.
  2. II. Trop., to clear up, set in order; to arrange, settle, adjust.
    1. A. In gen.: rationem or rationes, to hold a reckoning, reckon together, settle accounts: putare veteres dixerunt vacantia ex quāque re ac non necessaria aut etiam obstantia et aliena auferre et excidere, et, quod esset utile ac sine vitio videretur, relinquere. Sic namque arbores et vites et sic etiam rationes putari dictum, Gell. 6, 5, 6 sq.: vilicus rationem cum domino crebro putet, Cato, R. R. 5, 3: rationes, id. ib. 2, 5: putatur ratio cum argentario, Plaut. Aul. 3, 5, 52: rationes cum publicanis putare, Cic. Att. 4, 11, 1: ideo ratio putari dicitur in quā summa fit pura, Varr. L. L. 5, 9.
      1. 2. Transf.: quom eam mecum rationem puto, think over, consider, Plaut. Cas. 3, 2, 25.
    2. B. In partic.
      1. 1. To reckon, count, compute a thing: colliciares (tegulae) pro binis putabuntur, will be counted, Cato, R. R. 14, 4; cf.: si numerus militum potius quam legionum putatur, Tac. H. 3, 2.
      2. 2. Transf.
        1. a. To believe in, regard: id ipsum est deos non putare, quae ab iis significantur contemnere, Cic. Div. 1, 46, 104.
        2. b. To reckon, value, estimate, esteem a thing as any thing (= aestimare): aliquid denariis quadringentis, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 7, § 13: magni putare honores, id. Planc. 4, 11: cum unum te pluris quam omnes illos putem, id. Att. 12, 21, 5: parvi, Cat. 23, 25: tantique putat conubia nostra, Ov. M. 10, 618.
        3. c. To reckon, deem, hold, consider, count, esteem, etc.: aliquem nihilo, Cic. Div. in Caecil. 7, 24: aliquid pro certo, Matius et Trebat. ap. Cic. Att. 9, 15, A fin.: pro nihilo, Cic. Mil. 24, 64: imperatorem aliquo in numero putare, id. Imp. Pomp. 13, 37.
          With two acc.: turpem putat lituram, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 167: id nil puto, Ter. Heaut. 5, 1, 27; id. Ad. 1, 2, 19; 5, 4, 4; Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 84; 2, 2, 54; id. C. 4, 11, 30: hominem prae se neminem, Cic. Rosc. Am. 46, 135.
        4. d. To ponder, consider, reflect upon a thing: dum haec puto, Ter. Eun. 4, 2, 4: in quo primum illud debes putare, Cic. Planc. 4, 10: multa putans, Verg. A. 6, 332: cum aliquo argumentis, to consider or investigate maturely, to argue, Plaut. Am. 2, 1, 45.
        5. e. Transf. (as the result of consideration), to judge, suppose, account, suspect, believe, think, imagine, etc. (cf.: arbitror, opinor, censeo): verbum quoque ipsum puto, quod declarandae sententiae nostrae causā dicimus, non signat profecto aliud, quam id agere nos in re dubiā obscurāque, ut decisis amputatisque falsis opinionibus, quod videatur esse verum et integrum et incorruptum, retineamus, Gell. 6, 5, 8: aliquis forsan me Putet non putare hoc verum, Ter. And. 5, 5, 1: recte putas, id. ib. 1, 1, 114: rem ipsam putasti, you have hit the precise point, id. Phorm. 4, 5, 6: nec committere, ut aliquando dicendum sit, Non putaram, I should not have imagined that, Cic. Off. 1, 23, 81; id. Ac. 2, 18, 56: Cyprus insula et Cappadociae regnum tecum de me loquentur, puto etiam regem Deiotarum, id. Fam. 15, 4, 15: noli putare, me maluisse, etc., id. Att. 6, 1, 3; cf. id. ib. 3, 15, 7; id. Fam. 9, 16, 2; id. Att. 12, 18, 1; Caes. B. C. 2, 31: Numidae remorati dum in elephantis auxilium putant, Sall. J. 53, 3: stare putes; adeo procedunt tempora tarde, one would suppose, Ov. Tr. 5, 10, 5; id. H. 11, 85: acies mea videt aut videre putat, id. ib. 18, 32: hanc virtutem vestram ultra periculis obicere nimis grande vitae meae pretium puto, Tac. A. 2, 47; Nep. Paus. 3, 7.
          Parenthetically, Cic. Att. 12, 49, 1; Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 3, 3; Cic. Att. 8, 9, 4; 7, 8, 5; 9, 9, 3; 10, 16, 3: atque intra, puto, septimas Calendas, Mart. 1, 100, 6.
          Ironically, Ov. Am. 3, 7, 2: ut puto, deus fio, as I think, in my opinion, Suet. Vesp. 23 fin.; Ov. A. A. 1, 370: non, puto, repudiabis, etc., I think, I suppose, Vat. ap. Cic. Fam. 5, 9, 1.
          With gen.: quaecumque sunt in omni mundo, deorum atque hominum putanda sunt, Cic. N. D. 2, 62, 154.
          Elliptically, Cic. Fam. 15, 20, 1; cf. id. ib. 15, 4, 15; id. Fin. 5, 24, 76; Sen. Ep. 76, 11; Tac. Or. 33.
          Hence, pŭtă, imper., suppose, for instance, for example, namely (poet. and postAug.): Quinte, puta, aut Publi, Hor. S. 2, 5, 32: puta, tibi contigisse, ut oculos omnium effugias, Lact. 6, 24, 17: puta te servum esse communem, Sen. Contr. 3, 19, 4; 4, 25, 13; id. Clem. 1, 26, 2; id. Ben. 3, 41, 1; 5, 8, 6: si ille, puta, consul factus fuerit, Dig. 28, 5, 23: hoc, puta, non justum est, Pers. 4, 9; cf. Prisc. p. 1007 P.: ut puta (sometimes also written as one word, utputa), as for instance, as for example, Sen. Q. N. 2, 2, 3: ut puta novum crimen, Quint. 11, 3, 110; 7, 1, 14; Cels. 5, 26, 51 fin.; Sen. Ep. 47, 15.