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.

ardesco, arsi, 3, v. inch. [ardeo], to take fire, to kindle, to be inflamed (mostly poet. or in post-Aug. prose; not in Cic.; while exardesco is very freq.), lit. and trop.

  1. I. Lit.: ut omnia motu Percalefacta vides ardescere, Lucr. 6, 178: ardescunt caelestia templa, id. 6, 670: ne longus ardesceret axis, Ov. M. 1, 255; Plin. 37, 3, 12, § 51.
  2. II. Trop., to gleam, glitter.
    1. A. Of rays of light: fulmineis ardescunt ignibus undae, Ov. M. 11, 523.
    2. B. Of the gleaming of a sword: pugionem in mucronem ardescere jussit, Tac. A. 15, 54.
    3. C. Most freq. of the passions, to be inflamed, become more intense, increase in violence: ardescere dirā cuppedine, Lucr. 4, 1090; so id. 5, 897: in iras, Ov. M. 5, 41 (cf. Verg. A. 7, 445: exarsit in iras, and Luc. 3, 134: accensus in iram): in nuptias incestas, Tac. A. 11, 25: ardescit tuendo, Verg. A. 1, 713: stimulo ardescit, Plin. 8, 45, 70, § 181: quibus haec rabies auctoribus arsit, Luc. 5, 359.
      So, absol.: fremitus ardescit equorum, Verg. A. 11, 607: ardescente pugnā, Tac. H. 5, 18: in labiis ejus ignis ardescit, * Vulg. Prov. 16, 27.