Lewis & Short

cesso, āvi, ātum, 1,

  1. I. v. freq. n. and a. [1. cedo]; lit., to stand back very much; hence, to be remiss in any thing, to delay, loiter, or, in gen., to cease from, stop, give over (indicating a blamable remissness; while desinere, intermittere, requiescere do not include that idea: cessat desidiosus, requiescit fessus, Don. ad Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 15. Diff. from cunctari in this, that the latter designates inaction arising from want of resolution, but cessare that which is the result of slothfulness; cf. Doed. Syn. 3, p. 300 sq.; class. in prose and poetry): paulum si cessassem, Ter. Eun. 4, 4, 5; 4, 6, 16; id. Ad. 4, 2, 49: si tabellarii non cessarint, Cic. Prov. Cons. 7, 15: in suo studio atque opere, id. Sen. 5, 13: ne quis in eo, quod me viderit facientem, cesset, Liv. 35, 35, 16; cf. id. 35, 18, 8: ab apparatu operum ac munitionum nihil cessatum, id. 21, 8, 1; 34, 16, 3; 31, 12, 2; Tac. A. 3, 28: quidquid apud durae cessatum est moenia Trojae, whatever delay there was, Verg. A. 11, 288: audaciā, to be deficient in spirit, Liv. 1, 46, 6; cf.: nullo umquam officio, id. 42, 6, 8: ad arma cessantes Concitet, Hor. C. 1, 35, 15 et saep.
    So in admonitions: quid cessas? Ter. And. 5, 6, 15; Tib. 2, 2, 10: quid cessatis? Curt. 4, 16, 5: quor cessas? Ter. Ad. 4, 5, 69; cf.: cessas in vota precesque (poet. for cessas facere vota), Tros, ait, Aenea? cessas? Verg. A. 6, 51 sq.; Tib. 3, 6, 57.
    With dat. incommodi: it dies; ego mihi cesso, i. e. to my own injury, Plaut. Ps. 1, 3, 12 Lorenz ad loc.; id. Ep. 3, 2, 8: sed ego nunc mihi cesso, qui non umerum hunc onero pallio, Ter. Phorm. 5, 6, 4.
        1. b. With inf.: ego hinc migrare cesso, Plaut. Ep. 3, 2, 6 sq.: numquid principio cessavit verbum docte dicere? id. Pers. 4, 4, 3; so, alloqui, Ter. And. 2, 2, 6; 5, 2, 4: adoriri, id. Heaut. 4, 5, 9: pultare ostium, id. ib. 3, 1, 1; id. Phorm. 2, 3, 30: introrumpere, id. Eun. 5, 5, 26: detrahere de nobis, Cic. Att. 11, 11, 2: mori, Hor. C. 3, 27, 58 et saep.
  2. II. In gen.
    1. A. To be inactive, idle, at leisure, to do nothing: cur tam multos deos nihil agere et cessare patitur? cur non rebus humanis aliquos otiosos deos praeficit? Cic. N. D. 3, 39, 93; cf. id. ib. 1, 9, 22; id. Off. 3, 1, 1: nisi forte ego vobis cessare nunc videor; cum bella non gero, id. de Sen. 6, 18: et si quid cessare potes, requiesce sub umbrā, Verg. E. 7, 10: cessabimus una, Prop. 3 (4), 23, 15; Ov. M. 4, 37: cur alter fratrum cessare et ludere et ungi praeferat, etc., Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 183 (cessare otiari et jucunde vivere, Schol. Crucq.); so id. ib. 1, 7, 57: per hibernorum tempus, Liv. 36, 5, 1: cessatum usque adhuc est: nunc porro expergiscere, Ter. Ad. 4, 4, 23: cessatum ducere curam, put to rest, Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 31: non timido, non ignavo cessare tum licuit, Curt. 3, 11, 5.
        1. b. Of things, to be at rest, to rest, be still, inactive, unemployed, or unused, etc.: si cessare putas rerum primordia posse, Cessandoque novos rerum progignere motus, Lucr. 2, 80 sq.: quid ita cessarunt pedes? Phaedr. 1, 9, 5: et grave suspenso vomere cesset opus, Tib. 2, 1, 6; Ov. F. 6, 348: Achilles cessare in Teucros pertulit arma sua, Prop. 2, 8, 30: cur Berecyntiae Cessant flamina tibiae, Hor. C. 3, 19, 19: cessat voluntas? id. ib. 1, 27, 13: cessat ira deae, Liv. 29, 18, 10: solas sine ture relictas Praeteritae cessasse ferunt Letoïdos aras, i. e. remained unsought, unapproached, Ov. M. 8, 278; cf.: at nunc desertis cessant sacraria lucis, Prop. 3 (4), 13, 47; and: cessaturae casae, Ov. F. 4, 804: cessans honor, a vacant office, Suet. Caes. 76.
          1. (β) Of land, to lie uncultivated, fallow (cf. cessatio): alternis idem tonsas cessare novales, Verg. G. 1, 71; Plin. 18, 23, 52, § 191; cf. Suet. Aug. 42.
            Pass.: cessata arva, Ov. F. 4, 617.
            Trop., of a barren woman, Paul. Nol. Carm. 6, 48.
        2. c. Sometimes cessare alicui rei, like vacare alicui rei, to have leisure for something, i.e. to attend to, apply one’s self to: amori, Prop. 1, 6, 21.
    2. B. Rarely (prob. not ante-Aug.), not to be at hand or present, to be wanting: cessat voluntas? non aliā bibam Mercede, Hor. C. 1, 27, 13: augendum addendumque quod cessat, Quint. 2, 8, 10.
      Hence,
      1. 2. Judic. t. t.
        1. a. Of persons, not to appear before a tribunal, to make default: culpāne quis an aliquā necessitate cessasset, Suet. Claud. 15 (where, just before, absentibus; cf. absum, 8.): quoties delator adesse jussus cessat, Dig. 49, 14, 2, § 4; so ib. 47, 10, 17, § 20.
        2. b. Of things (a process, verdict), to be invalid, null, void: cessat injuriarum actio, Dig. 47, 10, 17, § 1: revocatio, ib. 42, 8, 10, § 1: edictum, ib. 39, 1, 1: senatus consultum, ib. 14, 6, 12 et saep.
    3. C. Also rare, in a moral view, to depart from a right way, i.e. to mistake, err: ut scriptor si peccat … Sic qui multum cessat, Hor. A. P. 357: oratoris perfecti illius, ex nullā parte cessantis, Quint. 1, 10, 4.