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.

vīs, vis, f., plur. vīres, ĭum (class. only in nom., acc. and abl. sing. and in plur.; gen. sing. very rare; Tac. Or. 26; Dig. 4, 2, 1; Paul. Sent. 5, 30; dat. sing. vi, Auct. B. Afr. 69, 2; C. I. L. 5, 837; collat. form of the nom. and acc. plur. vis, Lucr. 3, 265; 2, 586; Sall. ap. Prisc. p. 707, or H. 3, 62 Dietsch; Messala ap. Macr. S. 1, 9, 14) [Gr. ἴς, ϝις, sinew, force; ἶφι, with might], strength, physical or mental; force, vigor, power, energy, virtue (cf. robur).

  1. I. Lit.
      1. 1. In gen.
          1. (α) Sing.: celeritas et vis equorum, Cic. Div. 1, 70, 144: magna vis eorum (urorum) et magna velocitas, Caes. B. G. 6, 28: contra vim atque impetum fluminis, id. ib. 4, 17: tempestatis, id. B. C. 2, 14: venti, Lucr. 1, 271: solis, id. 4, 326 (301): horrida teli, id. 3, 170: acris vini, id. 3, 476: ferri aerisque, id. 5, 1286: veneni, Cic. Cael. 24, 58 et saep.
          2. (β) Plur. (most freq. of physical strength): non viribus aut velocitatibus aut celeritate corporum res magnae geruntur, Cic. Sen. 6, 17: nec nunc vires desidero adulescentis, non plus quam adulescens tauri aut elephanti desiderabam, id. ib. 9, 27: hoc ali vires nervosque confirmari putant, Caes. B. G. 6, 21: me jam sanguis viresque deficiunt, id. ib. 7, 50 fin.: perpauci viribus confisi transnatare contenderunt, id. ib. 1, 53: nostri integris viribus fortiter repugnare, id. ib. 3, 4: lacertis et viribus pugnare, Cic. Fam. 4, 7, 2: omnibus viribus atque opibus repugnare, id. Tusc. 3, 11, 25: non animi solum vigore sed etiam corporis viribus excellens, Liv. 9, 16, 12: validis viribus hastam contorquere, Verg. A. 2, 50: quicquid agas, decet agere pro viribus, with all your might, Cic. Sen. 9, 27; so, supra vires, Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 22: et neglecta solent incendia sumere vires, id. ib. 1, 18, 85: seu virium vi seu exercitatione multā cibi vinique capacissimus, Liv. 9, 16, 13; cf.: in proelii concursu abit res a Consilio ad vires vimque pugnantium, Nep. Thras. 1, 4 dub. (Siebel. vires usumque).
            Poet., with inf.: nec mihi sunt vires inimicos pellere tectis, Ov. H. 1, 109.
      2. 2. In partic.
        1. a. Energy, virtue, potency (of herbs, drugs, etc.): in radices vires oleae abibunt, Cato, R. R. 61, 1: vires habet herba? Ov. M. 13, 942: egregius fons Viribus occultis adjuvat, Juv. 12, 42.
        2. b. Vis, personified, the same as Juno, Aus. Idyll. de Deis; cf. Verg. A. 7, 432 Serv.
        3. c. Hostile strength, force, violence, = βία: EA POENA, QVAE EST DE VI, S. C. ap. Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 3, 5: cum vi vis illata defenditur, Cic. Mil. 4, 9; cf.: celeri rumore dilato Dioni vim allatam, Nep. Dion, 10, 1: ne vim facias ullam in illam, Ter. Eun. 4, 7, 37: sine vi facere, id. ib. 4, 7, 20: vim afferre alicui, Cic. Caecin. 21, 61; id. Verr. 2, 1, 24, § 62; 2, 4, 66, § 148: adhibere, id. Off. 3, 30, 110; id. Cat. 1, 8, 19: praesidio tam valido et armato vim adferre, Liv. 9, 16, 4: iter per vim tentare, by force, forcibly, Caes. B. G. 1, 14; so, per vim, id. B. C. 2, 13; Cic. Att. 7, 9, 4: ne id quidem satis est, nisi docet, ita se possedisse nec vi nec clam nec precario possederit, id. Caecin. 32, 92; so the jurid. formula in Lex Thoria ap. Grut. 202, 18; Dig. 41, 1, 22; Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 28: vis haec quidem hercle est, et trahi et trudi simul, Plaut. Capt. 3, 5, 92; Ter. Ad. 5, 8, 20: naves totae factae ex robore ad quamvis vim et contumeliam perferendam (shortly afterwards: tantas tempestates Oceani tantosque impetus ventorum sustineri), violence, shock, Caes. B. G. 3, 13: caeli, a storm, tempest, Plin. 18, 28, 69, § 278.
          To avoid the gen. form (v. supra): de vi condemnati sunt, Cic. Phil. 2, 2, 4: de vi reus; id. Sest. 35, 75; id. Vatin. 17, 41: ei qui de vi itemque ei qui majestatis damnatus sit, id. Phil. 1, 9, 23; cf. id. ib. 1, 9, 21 sq. Halm ad loc.; Tac. A. 4, 13.
        4. d. In mal. part., force, violence: pudicitiam cum eriperet militi tribunus militaris … interfectus ab eo est, cui vim adferebat, Cic. Mil. 4, 9: matribus familias vim attulisse, id. Verr. 2, 1, 24, § 62: vis allata sorori, Ov. A. A. 1, 679: victa nitore dei vim passa est, id. M. 4, 233: vim passa est Phoebe, id. A. A. 1, 679.
    1. B. Transf., concr.
      1. 1. Quantity, number, abundance (cf.: copia, multitudo); with gen.: quasi retruderet hominum me vis invitum, Plaut. Ep. 2, 2, 66: innumerabilis servorum, Cic. Har. Resp. 11, 22: in pompā cum magna vis auri argentique ferretur, Cic. Tusc. 5, 32, 91: vis magna pulveris, Caes. B. C. 2, 26: vis maxima ranunculorum, Cic. Fam. 7, 18, 3: argenti, id. Prov. Cons. 2, 4: vim lacrimarum profudi, id. Rep. 6, 14, 14: odora canum vis, Verg. A. 4, 132; cf. absol.: et nescio quomodo is, qui auctoritatem minimam habet, maximam vim, populus cum illis facit, Cic. Fin. 2, 14, 44.
      2. 2. Vires, military forces, troops: praeesse exercitui, ut praeter auctoritatem vires quoque ad coërcendum haberet, Caes. B. C. 3, 57: satis virium ad certamen, Liv. 3, 60, 4: undique contractis viribus signa cum Papirio conferre, id. 9, 13, 12: robur omne virium ejus regni, the flower, id. 33, 4, 4: concitet et vires Graecia magna suas, Ov. H. 15 (16), 340.
      3. 3. Vires, the virile forces or organs, Arn. 5, 158; 5, 163; Inscr. Orell. 2322; 2332: veluti castratis viribus, Plin. 11, 18, 19, § 60; cf.: vis (= vires) multas possidere in se, Lucr. 2, 586.
        Rarely sing.: vis genitalis, Tac. A. 6, 18.
  2. II. Trop.
    1. A. Mental strength, power, force, vigor: vis illa divina et virtus oratoris, Cic. de Or. 2, 27, 120: vis ac facultas oratoris, id. ib. 1, 31, 142: suavitatem Isocrates … sonitum Aeschines, vim Demosthenes habuit, id. ib. 3, 7, 28: summa ingenii, id. Phil. 5, 18, 49: magna vis est conscientiae in utramque partem, id. Mil. 23, 61: magna vis est in fortunā in utramque partem, id. Off. 2, 6, 19: patriae, id. de Or. 1, 44, 196: quod ostentum habuit hanc vim, ut, etc., power, effect, id. Div. 1, 33, 73: qui indignitate suā vim ac jus magistratui quem gerebat dempsisset, Liv. 26, 12, 8: hujus conventionis, Dig. 43, 25, 12.
      Plur. (post-Aug.): eloquentiae, Quint. 5, 1, 2: facilitatis, id. 12, 9, 20: ingenii, id. 1, 2, 23; 12, 1, 32: orationis, id. 8, 3, 87.
    2. B. Transf., of abstr. things, force, notion, meaning, sense, import, nature, essence (cf. significatio): id, in quo est omnis vis amicitiae, Cic. Lael. 4, 15: eloquentiae vis et natura, id. Or. 31, 112: vis honesti (with natura), id. Off. 1, 6, 18; cf. id. Fin. 1, 16, 50: virtutis, id. Fam. 9, 16, 5: quae est alia vis legis? id. Dom. 20, 53: vis, natura, genera verborum et simplicium et copulatorum, i.e. the sense, signification, id. Or. 32, 115: vis verbi, id. Inv. 1, 13, 17; id. Balb. 8, 21: quae vis insit in his paucis verbis, si attendes, si attendes, intelleges, id. Fam. 6, 2, 3: quae vis subjecta sit vocibus, id. Fin. 2, 2, 6: nominis, id. Top. 8, 35: μετωνυμία, cujus vis est, pro eo, quod dicitur, causam, propter quam dicitur, ponere, Quint. 8, 6, 23.