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.

1. mēto (no perf.), ātum, 1, v. a., to measure; v. metor fin.

2. mĕto, messŭi (Cato ap. Prisc. p. 903 P.; Mart. Cap. 3, § 319), messum, 3, v. a. and n. [root ma-; Gr. ἀμάω, mow, reap; ἄμη, sickle; cf. messis, messor], to reap, mow, crop; of the vintage, to gather, gather in, collect; and poet. of the sucking of honey from flowers (class.).

  1. I. Lit.: cum est matura seges, metendum, Varr. R. R. 1, 50, 3: sunt autem metendi genera complura, Col. 2, 21, 2: in metendo occupatos, Caes. B. G. 4, 32: pabula falce, to cut, cut down, Ov. H. 6, 84: farra, id. F 2, 519: arva, Prop. 4 (5), 10, 30.
    Prov.: ut sementem feceris, ita et metes, as you sow, so shall you reap, Cic. de Or. 2, 65, 261; cf.: ventum seminabunt et turbinem metent, Vulg. Os. 8, 7: qui seminant iniquitatem metet mala, id. Prov. 22, 8: mihi istic nec seritur, nec metitur, i. e. I have no share in it, it does not concern me, Plaut. Ep. 2, 2, 80: sibi quisque ruri metit, every one looks out for himself, id. Most. 3, 2, 112: Tibi aras, tibi occas, tibi seris; tibi item metes, id. Merc. prol. 71.
    Of the vintage, to gather, etc.: postremus metito, Verg. G. 2, 410; so, vindemiam, Plin. 17, 22, 35, § 185.
    Of bees: purpureosque metunt flores, reap the flowers, i. e. gather the pollen, Verg. G. 4, 54.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. In gen., to cut off, pluck off, crop (poet.): virgā lilia summa metit, Ov. F. 2, 706: barbam forfice, Mart. 7, 95, 12: capillos, id. 10, 83, 11: olus, to cut, gather, Calp. Ecl. 2, 74: et ferus in silvā farra metebat aper, laid waste, Ov. Am. 3, 10, 40: ille metit barbam, Juv. 3, 186.
      1. 2. In partic., in battle, to mow down, cut down: proxima quaeque metit gladio, Verg. A. 10, 513: primosque et extremos metendo Stravit humum, Hor. C. 4, 14, 31 tum Vesulum ense metit rapido, Sil. 10, 147: agmina plura metam, Val. Fl. 3, 670.
        So of death: metit Orcus Grandia cum parvis, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 178: vita omnibus metenda, ut fruges (transl. of the Greek of Euripid.: ἀναγκαίως δ’ ἔχει βίον θερίζειν), Poët. ap. Cic. Tusc. 3, 25, 59.
    2. B. To inhabit a region (poet.): qui Batulum Nucrasque metunt, Sil. 8, 566 (cf. a like poetic transfer of the verbs colere, arare, serere, and bibere).

3. Mĕto, ōnis, v Meton.

Mĕton or Mĕto, ōnis, m., = Μέτων, a celebrated Athenian astronomer, who discovered the cycle of nineteen years, at the end of which the new and full moons again fall on the same days, Avien. Prognost. 48; Aus. Epis. 2, 12.
Hence Cicero says, jestingly, of a debtor named Meton, who promised to pay in a year’s time: quando iste Metonis annus veniet? Cic. Att. 12, 3, 2; cf. id. ib. 12, 51, 3.

mētor, ātus, 1, v. dep. [meta], to measure, mete; to measure off, mark out (not in Cic.).

  1. I. In gen.: stadium Hercules pedibus suis metatus est, Gell. 1, 1, 2: caelum, Ov. F. 1, 309: Indiam, Plin. 6, 17, 21, § 57.
    Poet., to traverse, pass through: nunc nemoris alti densa metatur loca, Sen. Hippol. 505: agros, Sil. 6, 58.
  2. II. In partic.
      1. 1. Act., to measure out, mark, or lay out: castra metati signa statuunt, Cael. ap. Non. 137, 18: castra, * Caes. B. C. 3, 13, 3: cum ortu solis castra metabatur, measured out the ground for a camp, encamped, pitched his camp, Sall. J. 106, 5: agrum, Liv. 21, 25: agros, Verg. G. 2, 274: eam (i. e. Alexandriam), Plin. 5, 10, 11, § 62: regiones (for a temple), Liv. 1, 10, 6: castra, Vulg. 3 Reg. 20, 27.
      2. 2. Neutr., to encamp, pitch one’s tent: metarique sub ipso templo … jussit, Liv. 44, 7, 2: post tabernaculum, Vulg. Num. 3, 23.
        Hence, transf., to erect, pitch, set up: tabernacula ciliciis, Plin. 6, 28, 32, § 143.
        Act. collat. form, mēto, āre, to measure, measure out, etc.: loca, Verg. Cul. 172.
        Pass.: locus metatur, Sen. Thyest. 462.
        Often in part. perf.: castris eo loco metatis, Hirt. B. G. 8, 15; so, castra, Liv. 44, 37, 1: porticus, Hor. C. 2, 15, 15: agellus, id. S. 2, 2, 114: prope Beroeam vallo metato, Amm. 31, 9, 1.