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.

bucca (not buccha), ae, f. [kindred with βύζω, βυκάνη; Fr. bouche].

  1. I. The cheek (puffed or filled out in speaking, eating, etc.; diff. from genae, the side of the face, the cheeks, and from mala, the upper part of the cheek under the eyes; v. Plin. 11, 37, 57, § 156 sqq.; mostly in plur.; class.): buccam implere, Cato ap. Gell. 2, 22, 29: sufflare buccas, Plaut. Stich. 5, 4, 42: inflare, id. ib. 5, 6, 7: rumpere buccas, to write bombast, Pers. 5, 13: sufflare buccis, Mart. 3, 17, 4.
    In violent anger (cf. in Gr. φυσᾶν τὰς γνάθους, δεινὰ φυσᾶν, etc.): quin illis Juppiter ambas Iratus buccas inflet, etc., * Hor. S. 1, 1, 21: pictus Gallus … distortus, ejectā linguā, buccis fluentibus, Cic. de Or. 2, 66, 266; id. Red. in Sen. 6, 13: fluentes pulsataeque buccae, id. Pis. 11, 25 B. and K.: purpurissatae (rouged), Plaut. Truc. 2, 2, 35.
    In blowing the fire: buccā foculum excitat, Juv. 3, 262 al.
    Hence,
        1. b. Dicere (scribere) quod or quidquid in buccam venit, a colloq. phrase, to speak (write) whatever comes uppermost, Cic. Att. 1, 12, 4; 7, 10 fin.; 14, 7, 2; Mart. 12, 24, 5.
          Also ellipt.: garrimus quidquid in buccam, Cic. Att. 12, 1, 2.
    1. B. Meton.
      1. 1. One who fills his cheeks in speaking, a declaimer, bawler: Curtius et Matho buccae, Juv. 11, 34 (jactanticuli, qui tantum buccas inflant et nihil dicunt, Schol.); cf.: bucca loquax vetuli cinoedi, Mart. 1, 42, 13: homo durae buccae, Petr. 43, 3; so of a trumpeter: notaeque per oppida buccae, Juv. 3, 35.
      2. 2. One who stuffs out his cheeks in eating, a parasite, Petr. 64, 12.
      3. 3. A mouthful: bucca panis, Petr. 44, 2; Mart. 7, 20, 8; 10, 5, 5.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. From men to animals; of croaking frogs, Plin. 11, 37, 65, § 173.
    2. B. In gen., a cavity; of the knee-joint, Plin. 11, 45, 103, § 250.