Lewis & Short

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bis, adv. num. [for duis, from duo; like bellum from duellum, Paul. ex Fest. p. 66 Müll.; cf. Cic. Or. 45, 153, and the letter B], twice, at two times, on two occasions, in two ways, = δίς (very freq. in prose and poetry).

  1. I. In gen.: inde ad nos elisa bis advolat (imago), Lucr. 4, 315; Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 8, 6; Hor. Epod. 5, 33; id. A. P. 358; 440; Verg. A. 6, 32; Ov. M. 4, 517 al.: non semel sed bis, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 77, § 179: semel aut bis, Quint. 11, 2, 34: bis ac saepius, id. 10, 5, 7; Nep. Thras. 2, 5: bis mori, Hor. C. 3, 9, 15: bis consul, who has been twice consul in all (diff. from iterum consul, who is a second time consul), Cic. Ac. 2, 5, 13; id. Lael. 11, 39; id. Verr. 2, 5, 23, § 59; Liv. 23, 30, 15; 23, 31, 6; 23, 34, 15; 25, 5, 3; cf. Val. Max. 4, 1, 3; Suet. Ner. 35.
    Sometimes (among later writers) for iterum, now a second time: bis consul, Mart. 10, 48, 20; Prid. Kal. Febr.; Coll. Leg. Mos. et Rom. 1, § 11.
      1. 2. Bis is followed by,
          1. (α) Semel … iterum, Cic. Dom. 52, 134: bis dimicavit: semel ad Dyrrhachium, iterum in Hispaniā, Suet. Caes. 36; so id. Aug. 25; id. Tib. 6; 72; id. Claud. 6; cf. Wolf, ejusd. id. Tib. 6.
          2. (β) Primo … rursus, Suet. Aug. 17; 28.
          3. (γ) Et rursus, without a preceding primo, Suet. Aug. 22; id. Tib. 48.
    1. B. Transf., doubly, twofold, in two ways, in a twofold manner: bis periit amator, ab re atque animo simul, Plaut. Truc. 1, 1, 26: nam qui amat cui odio ipsus est, bis facere stulte duco; laborem inanem ipsus capit, et illi molestiam adfert, Ter. Hec. 3, 2, 8 sq.: in unā civitate bis improbus fuisti, cum et remisisti quod non oportebat, et accepisti quod non licebat, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 23, § 59: in quo bis laberis, primum, quod … deinde, quod, etc., id. Phil. 8, 4, 13: inopi beneficium bis dat qui dat celeriter, Publ. Syr. v. 235 Rib.: bis gratum est, id. v. 44 ib.: bis est mori alterius arbitrio mori, id. v. 50 ib.
  2. II. Particular connections.
    1. A. Bis in die, mense, anno, etc., or bis die, mense, anno, etc., twice a day, month, year, etc.; cf. Suet. Aug. 31 Oud.; id. Galb. 4; id. Vit. Ter. 2: bis in die, Cic. Tusc. 5, 35, 100; Cato, R. R. 26; 87: bis die, Tib. 1, 3, 31; Verg. E. 3, 34; Hor. C. 4, 1, 25; Cels. 1, 1; 1, 8; 3, 27, n. 2; Plin. 10, 53, 74, § 146; cf. cotidie, Liv. 44, 16, 5: in mense, Plin. 11, 18, 19, § 59; Suet. Aug. 35: in anno, Varr. R. R. 2, 11, 7: anno, Plin. 2, 73, 75, § 184.
    2. B. With other numerals, and particularly with distributives (class. in prose and poetry): bis binos, Lucr. 5, 1299; Cic. N. D. 2, 18, 49: bis quinos dies, Verg. A. 2, 126; Mart. 10, 75, 3; Ov. F. 3, 124: bis senos dies, Verg. E. 1, 44: bis septeni, Plin. 8, 36, 54, § 127: bis octoni, Ov. M. 5, 50: bis deni, Verg. A. 1, 381; Prop. 2 (3), 9, 3; Mart. 9. 78: bis quinquageni, id. 12, 67: bis milies, Liv. 38, 55, 12; Auct. B. Afr. 90; Val. Max. 3, 7, 1.
      1. 2. Esp., with cardinal numbers to express twice a given number (in the poets very freq., but not in prose): bis mille sagittae, Lucr. 4, 408; so Hor. Epod. 9, 17: bis sex, Varr. ap. Prob. Verg. E. 6, 31, p. 354 Lion.; Verg. A. 11, 9: bis quinque viri, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 24; Ov. M. 8, 500; 8, 579; 11, 96: bis trium ulnarum toga, Hor. Epod. 4, 8: duo, Ov. M. 13, 642: centum, id. ib. 5, 208 and 209; 12, 188: quattuor, id. ib. 12, 15: sex, id. ib. 6, 72; 6, 571; 4, 220; 12, 553; 12, 554; 15, 39: septem, id. ib. 11, 302: novem, id. ib. 14, 253 al.
    3. C. Bis terve, two or three times, very rarely: a te bis terve summum et eas perbrevis (litteras) accepi, Cic. Fam. 2, 1, 1: quem bis terve bonum cum risu miror, Hor. A. P. 358.
    4. D. Bis terque, several times, repeatedly, Mart. 4, 82, 3; cf.: stulte bis terque, utterly, Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 8, 6.
    5. E. Bis tanto or tantum, twice as great, twice as much: bis tanto amici sunt inter se quam prius, Plaut. Am. 3, 2, 62; id. Men. 4, 3, 6; id. Merc. 2, 2, 26: bis tantum quam tuus fundus reddit, Varr. R. R. 3, 2, 15: Tartarus ipse Bis patet in praeceps tantum, quantus, etc., Verg. A. 6, 578.
  3. F. Bis ad eundem (sc.: lapidem offendi, as in Aus. Ep. 11 med.); prov., to commit the same error twice, Cic. Fam. 10, 20, 2.
  4. G. Bis minus, in an old enigma in Gell. 12, 6, 2, whose solution is Terminus (ter-minus): semel minusne an bis minus, non sat scio: at utrumque eorum, ut quondam audivi dicier, Jovi ipsi regi noluit concedere.
    Note: In composition, bis, like the Gr. δίς, loses the s: biceps, bidens, bifer, bigener, bijugus, bilix, etc.; hence bissenus, Sen. Agam. 812; id. Herc. Fur. 1282; Stat. Th. 3, 574; and bisseni, id. ib. 12, 811; Aus. Monos. Idyll. 12, and Prud. Cath. 12, 192, are better written as two words: bis senus (seni); so either bisextus, or as two words, bis sextus (Stat. S. 4, 1, 9); v. bisextus.