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.

spĕcus, ūs (abl. plur. specibus, Sen. Cons. ap. Front. Aquaed. 125; on the various forms found only in the grammarians, v. Neue, Formenl. 1, 569 sq.), m. (f. and n. v. infra) [perh. root spec-; v. specio, and so orig. a hole, aperture; but cf. σπέος].

  1. I. Lit., a cave, cavern, grot, den; a cavity, chasm, natural or artificial; of the latter kind, a ditch, drain, canal, channel, covered water-course, a pit in mines, etc. (cf. spelunca).
          1. (α) Masc. (class. and freq.): inferum vastos specus, Enn. ap. Non. 222, 32 (Trag. v. 218 Vahl.): specus tenebricosus, Varr. ib. 222, 31: fons ex opaco specu, Liv. 1, 21; so abl. sing., id. 1, 56, 10; 10, 10, 1: forum medium ferme specu vasto collapsum dicitur, id. 7, 6; so sing., Ov. M. 3, 29; 7, 409; 11, 235; id. F. 4, 495; Liv. 10, 1, 5; Tac. A. 16, 1, 3; 16, 4, 59.
            Plur.: quos agor in specus? Hor. C. 3, 25, 2: paucos specus in extremo fundo, et eos quidem subterraneos, * Cic. Att. 15, 26, 4; so of drains, ditches, Varr. R. R. 3, 17 fin.; Cat. 61, 28; Liv. 39, 13, 13; Tac. A. 12, 57; id. G. 16; Sen. Med. 741 al.
          2. (β) Fem. (ante- and post-class.): concava specus, Enn. ap. Non. 222, 23 (Ann. v. 420 Vahl.); cf. Serv. Verg. A. 7, 568; Pac. ap. Non. 223, 2 Müll. (Trag. p. 91 Rib.); id. ap. Fest. p. 343 Müll. (l. l. p. 73 Rib.): specum quandam nactus remotam latebrosamque, in eam me penetro et recondo, Gell. 5, 14, 18; Sil. 6, 276.
          3. (γ) Neutr. (anteclass. and poet.): hic specus horrendum, Verg. A. 7, 568; Serv. ad loc.: invisum caelo specus, Sil. 13, 425; Ps.-Quint. Decl. 10, 19.
          4. (δ) Acc. to the second declension: speca apposita, Cato ap. Prisc. p. 713 P.: altis claudere specis, Att. ap. Non. 487, 25 (Fragm. Trag. v. 63 Rib.).
  2. II. Transf., a hollow, cavity of any kind (poet.): specus atri vulneris, Verg. A. 9, 700 Serv.: quos Capacis alvi mersit tartareo specu, Phaedr. 4, 6, 10; of a snake’s belly, Sil. 6, 276; cf. of the belly of the Trojan horse, Petr. poët. 89, 2, 7.
    In mal. part., Auct. Priap. 83, 34.