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.

dī-mĭco, āvi (e. g. dimicavere, Vell. 2, 85, 1; dimicaverant, Caes. B. C. 2, 4, 3; dimicassent, Vell. 2, 85, 5 al.; dimicuisse, Ov. Am. 2, 7, 2; 2, 13, 28), ātum, 1, v. n., lit., to brandish one’s weapons against the enemy, i. e. to fight, struggle, contend (freq. and class.).

  1. I. Lit.: manum conserere atque armis dimicare, Caes. B. C. 1, 20, 4: armis cum aliquo, Nep. Milt. 1, 2: ferro pro patria, Liv. 1, 24: acie cum aliquo, id. 2, 49 fin.; for which: in acie, Caes. B. G. 7, 64, 2: proelio, id. ib. 5, 16, 2; 6, 31, 1 al.: equitatu, Nep. Eum. 3 fin.: adversus aliquem, Nep. Milt. 4 fin.: pro legibus, pro libertate, pro patria, Cic. Tusc. 4, 19 et saep.: tuto dimicare, Caes. B. G. 3, 24, 2; so absol., id. ib. 2, 21, 5; 3, 17 fin. et saep.
    Pass. impers.: ancipiti proelio dimicatur, Caes. B. C. 3, 63, 3; so, proelio, id. ib. 1, 41, 3; 3, 72, 3 al.; and without proelio, id. B. G. 5, 16, 1; id. B. C. 3, 85, 3; Cic. Off. 1, 12, 38; cf.: in mortem dimicabatur, Vell. 2, 85, 4 al.
    In partic. of gladiatorial combats, Suet. Caes. 26; 39; id. Calig. 27; 30; Plin. 8, 7, 7, § 18 al.
        1. b. With an abstr. subject: leonum feritas inter se non dimicat, Plin. H. N. 7 prooem. § 5.
  2. II. Transf. beyond the milit. sphere, to struggle, to strive, to contend: omni ratione erit dimicandum, ut, etc., Cic. Div. ap. Caecil. 22, 72: dimicantes competitores, Liv. 6, 41: de sua potentia periculo civitatis, Cic. Att. 7, 3; esp. with the accessory idea of risk, hazard: reos, de capite, de fama, de civitate, de fortunis, de liberis dimicantes (for which, shortly before: qui auderent se et salutem suam in discrimen offerre), Cic. Sest. 1: de honore et gloria (for which, shortly before: de vita, de gloria in discrimen vocantur), id. Off. 1, 24, 83: de vita gloriae causa, id. Arch. 10, 23; cf.: de vita, id. ib. 11 fin.; Liv. 24, 26: de omnibus fortunis reip., Pompei. ap. Cic. Att. 8, 12 D.: de fama, Nep. Timoth. 4, 3: de liberis, Liv. 3, 44 fin.; and: de repulsa, i. e. at the risk of one, id. 6, 40; cf. also without de: ut in singulas horas capite dimices tuo, Liv. 2, 12 (in Cic. Fin. 2, 17, 56, the reading is dubious, v. Madv. ad h. l.).
        1. b. In Tertullian, borrowed from the lang. of gladiators (v. supra, no. I.): ad hanc jam lineam dimicabit nostra congressio, Tert. Pudic. 6; id. adv. Marc. 1, 7.