Lewis & Short

compesco, pescui (pescitum, Prisc. p. 887 P.), 3, v. a. [compes], to fasten together, to confine, hold in check, to repress, curb, restrain (mostly poet. or in post-Aug. prose; not in Cic.; the words quoted as from Cic. by Quint. 11, 3, 169: quin compescitis vocem istam? ap. Cic. himself, Rab. Perd. 8, 18, are: quin continetis vocem).

  1. I. Lit.: ramos fluentes, i. e. to clip, prune, Verg. G. 2, 370; Col. 5, 6, 11: spatiantia bracchia, Ov. M. 14, 630: ignibus ignes, id. ib. 2, 313: incendia, Plin. Ep. 10, 33 (43), 2: mare, Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 16: luxuriosam vitem fructu, Col. 4, 21, 2; cf. Plin. 14, 20, 25, § 124: harundinem, Col. 4, 32, 5; cf.: coërceo cretam, to tread, stamp, Titin. ap. Non. p. 245, 32: equum angustis habenis, Tib. 1, 4, 11: suos ocellos, Prop. 1, 16, 31: seditiosum civem, Quint. 11, 1, 40; cf. legiones, Suet. Calig. 1: multitudinem, id. Caes. 16.
  2. II. Trop., to suppress, repress, restrain, check, etc.: seditionem exercitūs verbo uno, Tac. A. 1, 42: hostiles motus per legatos, Suet. Tib. 37: sitim multā undā, Ov. M. 4, 102: maledicta hinc aufer; linguam compescas face, Plaut. Poen. 5, 2, 75; cf. querellas. * Lucr. 3, 954 Lachm.: tristitiam, Ov. M. 9, 396: clamorem, Hor. C. 2, 20, 23: risum, id. S. 2, 8, 63; and: vino dolores, Tib. 1, 2, 1: animam frenis et catenā, Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 63: mentem, id. C. 1, 16, 22: scelera, Quint. 12, 1, 26: ardorem (together with temperavit vim suam), Tac. Agr. 8: mores dissolutos vi, Phaedr. 1, 2, 12.
          1. (β) With inf.: cave malum et compesce in illum dicere injuste, cease, forbear, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 3, 59.