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.

forsĭtan, adv. [contr. from fors sit an; v. fors, A.; cf. also: forsan, fortan, and fortassean], perhaps, peradventure.

  1. I. Usually in principal clauses.
    1. A. With subj. (class. and freq.; only so in Cicero): si altera illaec magis instabit, forsitan nos reiciat, Ter. Phorm. 4, 5, 5: longiorem orationem causa forsitan postulet, tua certe natura breviorem, Cic. Lig. 12, 38 (al. fortasse postulat, v. Halm. ad loc.): forsitan quaeratis, qui iste terror sit, etc., id. Rosc. Am. 2, 5; Verg. G. 2, 288: forsitan quispiam dixerit: Nonne, etc., Cic. Off. 3, 6, 29 (for which: fortasse dixerit quispiam, id. de Sen. 3, 8): forsitan occurrat illud, etc., id. de Or. 3, 9, 34: major ars aliqua forsitan esset requirenda, id. ib. 2, 45, 189; 1, 15, 67: illud forsitan quaerendum sit, num, etc., id. Off. 1, 45, 159: haec ipsa forsitan fuerint non necessaria, id. Brut. 13, 52: forsitan meliores illi accusatores habendi sint, id. Verr. 2, 1, 38, § 58: nimium forsitan haec illi mirentur atque efferant, id. ib. 2, 4, 56, § 124.
      With sed: quae forsitan vobis parvae esse videantur: sed, etc., id. Verr. 2, 4, 21 fin.; id. Att. 12, 18, 1; so with subj., Liv. 3, 25, 9: quae forsitan laus sit, verum tamen, Cic. Brut. 8, 33: forsitan dicatis, Liv. 31, 31, 19: matrem insimulare forsitan fas non sit, id. 39, 10, 4; 31, 38, 4; 40, 15, 4; Quint. 2, 16, 11.
    2. B. With indic. (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose; not in Cic.): forsitan et publica, sua certe liberata fide, in castra redierunt, Liv. 9, 11, 13; 22, 23, 5; cf. Sall. J. 106, 3: incipies forsitan justus esse rex, Curt. 7, 4, 17: forsitan non periculosius est tacere quam dicere, id. 7, 1, 37; 4, 14, 20; Liv. 21, 40: forsitan haec aliquis, nam sunt quoque, parva vocabit, Ov. R. Am. 419: forsitan ventos timebas, id. F. 2, 97.
  2. II. In dependent clauses (rare), with ut: neque id facio, ut quibusdam forsitan videor, etc., Cic. Fam. 1, 8, 2.
    With quam: videor jam liberius loqui debere quam forsitan ipsi velint, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 4, § 11.
    With quod: decrevi ad te scribere, quod forsitan minus ea perspicias, Serv. ap. Cic. Fam. 4, 5, 1.
    With cum: minime consentaneum est, cum bello tuo forsitan vix sufficias, Liv. 10, 18, 3 (but not in Lucr. 5, 610, where the correct read. is forsitan e rosea, etc.; v. Lachm. p. 302).