Lewis & Short

vĭŏlo, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. [vis], to treat with violence (corporeally, and, more freq., mentally), to injure, dishonor, outrage, violate (cf.: laedo, polluo, contamino).

  1. I. Lit. with persons as objects: hospites violare fas non putant, to injure, do violence to, Caes. B. G. 6, 23 fin.: aliquem, id. B. C. 3, 98: patriam prodere, parentes violare, Cic. Fin. 3, 9, 32.
    Esp.: virginem, Auct. ap. Varr. L. L. 6, § 80 Müll.; Tib. 1, 6, 51; cf. Cic. Fam. 9, 22, 1 fin.: sacrum vulnere corpus, Verg. A. 11, 591; cf.: Getico peream violatus ab arcu, Ov. P. 3, 5, 45.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. With places as objects, to invade, violate, profane: fines eorum se violaturum negavit, Caes. B. G. 6, 32: loca religiosa et lucos, Cic. Rab. Perd. 2, 7: Iliacos agros ferro, Verg. A. 11, 255: Cereale nemus securi, Ov. M. 8, 741: silva vetus nullāque diu violata securi, id. F. 4, 649.
    2. B. With the senses as objects, to outrage, shock: oculos nostros (tua epistola), Ov. H. 17, 1; cf.: aures meas obsceno sermone, Petr. 85.
    3. C. With abstract objects, to violate, outrage, break, injure, etc.: officium, Cic. Rosc. Am. 38, 109: jus, id. Leg. 2, 9, 22: religionem, id. Verr. 2, 5, 72, § 186: virginitatem alicujus, id. N. D. 3, 23, 59: vitam patris, id. Par. 3, 25: inducias per scelus, to break, Caes. B. C. 2, 15: foedera, Liv. 28, 44, 7; Tib. 1, 9, 2: amicitiam, Cic. Phil. 2, 1, 3: existimationem absentis, id. Quint. 23, 73; cf.: nominis nostri famam tuis probris, id. Verr. 2, 1, 32, § 82: dignitatem alicujus in aliquā re, id. Fam. 1, 6, 2; cf.: injuriae sunt, quae aut pulsatione corpus aut convicio aures aut aliquā turpitudine vitam cujuspiam violant, Auct. Her. 4, 25, 35.
  3. III. Trop. (rare and poet.): Indum sanguineo ostro ebur, i. e. to dye of a blood-red, Verg. A. 12, 67 (an imitation of the Homeric ἐλέφαντα φοίνικι μιήνη, Il. 4, 141).