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.

occento (obc-), āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. [obcanto], to sing at or before, i. e.,

  1. I. To serenade a person: senem, Plaut. Stich. 4, 1, 66.
    Absol.: quid, si adeam ad fores atque occentem? Plaut. Curc. 1, 2, 57: hymenaeum, id. Cas. 4, 3, 9 (dub.; al. offundam).
  2. II. In a bad sense, to sing a satirical song or pasquinade against any one (class.): occentassint antiqui dicebant, quod nunc convicium fecerint dicimus: quod id clare, et cum quodam canore fit, ut procul exaudiri possit, Paul. ex Fest. p. 181 Müll.: si quis occentavisset, sive carmen condidisset, quod infamiam faceret flagitiumve alteri, XII. Tab. ap. Cic. Rep. 4, 10, 12 (Fragm. ap. Aug. Civ. Dei, 2, 9); cf. Rein’s Criminalrecht, p. 357 sq.
    With acc. of the place: ostium, to sing a lampoon or pasquinade before one’s door, Plaut. Pers. 4, 4, 20; id. Merc. 2, 3, 73.
    1. B. Transf., of birds of ill omen: bubo occentans funebria, singing dismal songs, Amm. 30, 5, 16.