Lewis & Short

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incĭpĭo, cēpi, ceptum, 3 (archaic incepsit inceperit, Paul. ex Fest. p. 107 Müll.), v. a. and n. [in-capio; lit., to seize upon, lay hold of; opp. to desinere; hence, with the accessory idea of action), to begin to do something, to take in hand (syn. incoho; in class. prose, viz. in Cic., only in the tempp. press., while coepi is used in the tempp. perff.); constr. usually with the inf., less freq. absol., with the acc., ab, or adv. of place or time.

  1. I. Act.
          1. (α) With inf.: ut homines mortem vel optare incipiant vel certe timere desistant, Cic. Tusc. 1, 49, 117: huic incipio sententiae diffidere, id. ib. 5, 1, 3: prius quam incipit tinnire, Plaut. As. 2, 4, 42: bella gerere, Cic. N. D. 2, 3, 9: leges neglegere, id. Rep. 1, 43 fin.: queri cum multis incipiunt, id. Verr. 2, 2, 23, § 56: nimis cito diligere, id. Lael. 21, 78: amare aliquem, id. ib. 16, 60: fossas complere, Caes. B. G. 5, 51, 4: rem frumentariam expedire, id. B. C. 1, 54, 4: triplicem aciem ducere, id. ib. 1, 64, 7; 2, 30, 1: cum maturescere frumenta inciperent, id. ib. 6, 29, 4; cf. id. ib. 3, 49, 1: cum primum pabuli copia esse inciperet, id. B. G. 2, 2, 2; cf.: ictus erat, qua crus esse incipit, Ov. M. 6, 255; 8, 474; 15, 256: opes pellere dominatione, Sall. H. 3, 61, 3: si res explicare incipiam, Nep. Pelop. 1: Bessus agere gratias incipit, Curt. 5, 12, 1: cenare, Suet. Aug. 74: promovere scalas, Tac. A. 15, 4 fin.: si dormire incipis ortu luciferi, Juv. 8, 11: male quod mulier facere incepit, nisi id efficere perpetrat, etc. … Si bene facere incepit, etc. (shortly afterward, occeperunt), Plaut. Truc. 2, 5, 12 and 14: satis nequam sum, utpote qui hodie inceperim Amare, id. Rud. 2, 5, 5.
          2. (β) Absol.: ut incipiendi ratio fuerit, ita sit desinendi modus, Cic. Off. 1, 37, 135; cf. Plin. Ep. 9, 4, 1; Sen. Ep. 116: dum incipimus, Quint. 11, 3, 144: dum deliberamus, quando incipiendum sit, incipere jam serum est, id. 12, 6, 3: in incipiendo, etc., id. 11, 1, 6: ac statim sic rex incipit, thus begins (to speak), Sall. J. 109 fin.; cf.: nec sic incipies, ut scriptor cyclicus olim: Fortunam Priami, etc., Hor. A. P. 136: sic incipit, with a foll. direct quotation, id. S. 2, 6, 79; Ov. M. 9, 281; and simply incipit, Hor. S. 1, 9, 21: sapere aude, Incipe, make a beginning, begin, id. Ep. 1, 2, 41; Juv. 4, 34: priusquam incipias, consulto opus est, Sall. C. 1, 6: turpe inceptu est, Ter. Phorm. 2, 4, 16: incipientes atque adhuc teneri (pueri), who are beginning to learn, beginners, Quint. 1, 2, 26: incipiens, id. 2, 5, 18; 2, 6, 5; 8 prooem. § 1; 3; 10, 7, 18: quoties madidum ver incipit, Juv. 9, 52 al.
          3. (γ) With acc. (once in Cic., once in Cæs., v. infra): facinus audax incipit, Plaut. Aul. 3, 4, 1: facinus, Sall. C. 20, 3: pugilatum, Plaut. Capt. 4, 2, 13: iter, id. Cas. 4, 4, 2: aliquid novi negotii, Ter. Phorm. 4, 4, 29: bellum (opp. deponere), Sall. J. 83, 1: tam prava, id. ib. 64, 2: indigna nobis, id. H. 2, 41, 8: opus, Liv. 7, 34, 13: bellum, id. 21, 21, 6; 26, 37, 9; 42, 43, 3: sementem, Verg. G. 1, 230: Maenalios versus, id. E. 8, 21: si id facere non potueris, quod, ut opinio mea fert, ne incipies quidem, Cic. Planc. 19, 48; Quint. 1, 12, 5: iter mihi incepi, Plaut. Cas. 2, 1, 16: tantum incepi operis, id. Men. 2, 3, 80: mandata, Tac. A. 12, 10; 4, 46: auspicia a parricidio, Just. 26, 2 init.: multa, Cat. ap. Gell. 16, 14, 2.
            Pass.: tanta incepta res est, Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 31: nuptiarum gratia haec sunt ficta atque incepta, Ter. And. 5, 1, 17; 3, 3, 7: si inceptam oppugnationem reliquissent, Caes. B. G. 7, 17, 6: quia dici extremum erat, proelium non inceptum, Sall. J. 21, 2: proelium incipitur, id. ib. 57, 3; 74, 2: saxis proelium incipitur, Tac. H. 5, 17: satis cito incipi victoriam, id. ib. 2, 25; id. A. 2, 5; 2, 76; 12, 67 fin.: iter inceptum celerant, Verg. A. 8, 90: inceptumque decurre laborem, id. G. 2, 39: inceptum frustra summitte furorem, id. A. 12, 832: deus me vetat Inceptos iambos Ad umbilicum adducere, Hor. Epod. 14, 7: in re incipiunda ad defendendam noxiam, Ter. Phorm. 1, 4, 48: in contentionibus aut incipiendis aut finiendis, Quint. 11, 3, 128: a tantis princeps incipiendus erat, Ov. F. 5, 570.
          4. (δ) With ab or an adv. of place or time: a Jove incipiendum putat, Cic. Rep. 1, 36 (acc. to the Gr. of Aratus, ἐκ Διὸς ἀρχώμεσθα): ab illis incipit uxor, Juv. 6, 348; Quint. 10, 1, 46: incipiamus ab iis, id. 9, 2, 6: semper ab excusatione aetatis incipientem, id. 6, 3, 76: potissimum incipiam ab ea parte, id. 3, 7, 1: optime manus a sinistra parte incipit, in dextra deponitur, id. 11, 3, 106: amicitia incepta a parvis cum aetate accrevit simul, Ter. And. 3, 3, 7.
            Pass. impers.: optime incipitur a longis, recte aliquando a brevibus, Quint. 9, 4, 92.
  2. II. Neutr., to begin to be, to begin, commence (rare but class.); constr. with abl. instrum., or absol.
          1. (α) With abl.: tertius sinus Acrocerauniis incipit montibus, Plin. 4, 1, 1, § 1: censere ut principium anni inciperet mense Decembri, Tac. A. 13, 10: verbum petere quo incipiant, Quint. 10, 7, 21.
          2. (β) Absol.: cum ver esse coeperat … cum rosam viderat, tum incipere ver arbitrabatur, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 10, § 27: quoties incipit sensus aut desinit, Quint. 9, 4, 67: hic annus incipit vicesimus, Plaut. Capt. 5, 3, 3: narrationis incipit mihi initium, Ter. And. 4, 2, 26: jam tum inceperat turba inter eos, id. Eun. 4, 4, 58: tempus erat quo prima quies mortalibus aegris Incipit, Verg. A. 2, 269: mox Idumaea incipit et Palaestina, Plin. 5, 13, 14, § 68: epistula, quam incipiente febricula scripseras, Cic. Att. 7, 8, 2: incipientes curas principis onerari, Tac. A. 1, 19: incipiens adhuc et nondum adulta seditio, id. H. 1, 31: incipiens omnia sentit amor, Ov. A. A. 2, 648: Menander Syracusanus incipientis juventae, Plin. 8, 5, 5, § 14: incipiente aestate, id. 27, 13, 109, § 133: trixago incipientibus hydropicis efficax, id. 24, 15, 80, § 131: quem (honorem) et incipientes principes et desinentes adeo concupis cunt ut auferant, Plin. Pan. 57.
            Hence, in-ceptum, i, n., a beginning, attempt, undertaking (freq. in historians and poets, but not in Cæs.; also rare in Cic.): cujus ego non modo factum, sed inceptum ullum conatumve contra patriam deprehendero, Cic. Cat. 2, 12, 27: servetur ad imum, Qualis ab incepto processerit (persona), from the beginning onwards, Hor. A. P. 127: permanere in incepto, Luccei. ap. Cic. Fam. 5, 14 fin.: a quo incepto studioque me ambitio mala detinuerat, Sall. C. 4, 2: cujus neque consilium neque inceptum ullum frustra erat, id. J. 7, 6; cf.: ni ea res longius nos ab incepto traheret, the subject, id. ib. 7 fin.: absistere incepto, Liv. 31, 26, 5: desistere incepto, Verg. A. 1, 37: haerere in incepto, id. ib. 2, 654: peragere inceptum, id. ib. 4, 452; cf.: perficere inceptum, Sall. J. 11 fin.: piget incepti, Verg. A. 5, 678: nunc ad inceptum redeo, Sall. J. 4, 9; 42, 5: turpe inceptum est, Ter. Phorm. 2, 4, 16.
            In plur.: cupidus incepta patrandi, Sall. J. 70, 5: juventus Catilinae inceptis favebat, id. C. 17, 6: incepta mea inpedivit, id. H. 4, 61, 12; cf.: inceptis annue, diva, meis, Ov. Am. 3, 2, 56; and: di nostra incepta secundent, Verg. A. 7, 259: gravia et magna professa, Hor. A. P. 14.