Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

pecten, ĭnis, m. [pecto], a comb.

  1. I. Prop., for the hair, Plaut. Capt. 2, 2, 18; Ov. Am. 1, 14, 15: deducit pectine crines, id. M. 4, 311; 12, 409; Petr. 126; Spart. Hadr. 26.
  2. II. Transf., of things resembling a comb.
    1. A. The reed or sley of a weaver’s loom: arguto tenues percurrens pectine telas, Verg. A. 7, 14; Ov. F. 3, 819; cf. id. M. 6, 58; Varr. L. L. 5, 23, § 113.
      1. 2. The weaver’s art, weaving: victa est Pectine Niliaco jam Babylonis acus, Mart. 14, 150, 2.
    2. B. An instrument for heckling flax or combing wool, a comb, card, heckle, Juv. 9, 30; Plin. 11, 23, 27, § 77; Claud. Eutr. 2, 382.
    3. C. A rake: tonsam raro pectine verrit humum, Ov. R. Am. 191; Plin. 18, 30, 72, § 297; Col. 2, 20.
    4. D. A clasping of the hands in distress, Ov. M. 9, 299.
      Of the mingling of the oars of two vessels: mixtis obliquo pectine remis, Luc. 3, 609 dub. (al. pectore).
    5. E. Pecten dentium, a row of teeth, Prud. στεφ. 10, 934.
  3. F. A stripe or vein in wood, Plin. 16, 38, 73, § 185.
  4. G. The hair of the pubes, Juv. 6, 370; Plin. 29, 1, 8, § 26.
    Also, the sharebone, Cels. 8, 1.
  5. H. A kind of dance: Amazonius, Stat. Achill. 2, 156.
  6. K. An instrument with which the strings of the lyre were struck: jamque eadem digitis, jam pectine pulsat eburno, Verg. A. 6, 647 Serv.; Juv. 6, 382.
      1. 2. Transf.
        1. a. A lyre, Val. Fl. 3, 159.
        2. b. A poem or song: dum canimus sacras alterno pectine Nonas, i. e. in distichs, Ov. F. 2, 121.
  7. L. A kind of shell-fish, a scallop: pectinibus patulis jactat se molle Tarentum, Hor. S. 2, 4, 34; Plin. 9, 33, 51, § 101; 9, 51, 74, § 160; 11, 37, 52, § 139; 11, 51, 112, § 267; 32, 11, 53, § 150.
  8. M. Pecten Veneris, a plant, perh. Venus’s comb, needle-weed, Plin. 24, 19, 114, § 175.