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.

orbis, is (nom. orbs, Ven. Carm. 8, 5.
Abl. regul. orbe; but orbi, Lucr. 5, 74: ex orbi, Varr. R. R. 3, 5, 16; Rutil. ap. Charis. p. 112 P.: orbi terrae, in the meaning in the world, Cic. Sest. 30, 66; so, orbi terrarum, id. Verr. 2, 4, 38, § 82 Halm; id. Dom. 10, 24; id. Fragm. ap. Charis. p. 112 P.), m. [etym. dub.; perh. akin to Sanscr. dhvar, bend, twist], any thing of a circular shape, a ring, round surface, disk, hoop, orbit, orb, a circle (class.; cf.: circus, circulus, gyrus, spira).

  1. I. Lit.: in orbem torquere, Cic. Univ. 7: curvare aliquid in orbem, Ov. M. 2, 715: certumque equitavit in orbem, id. ib. 12, 468.
    Of a ring: et digitum justo commodus orbe teras, fit exactly, Ov. Am. 2, 15, 6: unionum, roundness, Plin. 9, 35, 56, § 113.
    Of a circle formed by men: ut in orbem consisterent, place themselves in a circle, form a circle, Caes. B. G. 5, 33: cum illi, orbe facto, se defenderent, id. ib. 4, 37: orbem volventes suos increpans, Liv. 4, 28: in orbem pugnare, id. 28, 22, 15: in orbem sese stantibus equis defendere, id. 28, 33, 15: stella (φαέθων) eundem duodecim signorum orbem annis duodecim conficit, the zodiac, Cic. N. D. 2, 20, 52: lacteus, the Milky Way, id. Rep. 6, 16, 16.
    Of the orbit of a heavenly body: sidera circulos suos orbesque conficiunt, Cic. Rep. 6, 15, 15.
    Of a serpent, the windings, coils: immensis orbibus angues Incumbunt pelago, Verg. A. 2, 204.
    Of a circular surface or disk: orbis mensae, a round table-top, Ov. H. 17, 87; cf. Juv. 11, 122.
    Also, simply orbes, a round table, Mart. 2, 43; Juv. 1, 137.
    Of a quoit or discus: ictus ab orbe, Ov. Ib. 590.
    Of the scale of a balance: instabilis natat alterno depressior orbe, Tib. 4, 1, 44.
    Of a mirror: addidit et nitidum sacratis crinibus orbem, Mart. 9, 18, 5.
    Of a shield: illa (hasta) per orbem Aere cavum triplici … Transiit, Verg. A. 10, 783; Petr. 89.
    Of a mosaic pavement of rounded pieces of marble, Juv. 11, 175.
    Of a scale, one side of a balance, Tib. 4, 1, 44.
    Of the millstones of an oil-mill, Cato, R. R. 22.
    Of the wooden disk placed over olives in pressing them, Cato, R. R. 18.
    Of the hoop or tire of a wheel: rotarum orbes circumacti, Plin. 8, 16, 19, § 52.
    Of the wheel itself: undaque jam tergo ferratos sustinet orbes, Verg. G. 3, 361.
    Hence, the wheel of fortune, Tib. 1, 5, 70; Ov. Tr. 5, 8, 7; id. P. 2, 3, 56.
    Of the socket of the eye: inanem luminis orbem, Ov. M. 14, 200.
    Of the eye itself: gemino lumen ab orbe venit, Ov. Am. 1, 8, 16: ardentes oculorum orbes ad moenia torsit, Verg. A. 12, 670.
    Of the sun’s disk or orb: lucidus orbis, Verg. G. 1, 459.
    Of the moon’s disk or orb: quater junctis implevit cornibus orbem Luna, quater plenum tenuata retexuit orbem, Ov. M. 7, 530.
    Of the circle of the world, the world, the universe: Juppiter arce suā totum cum spectet in orbem, Ov. F. 1, 85: renatus, the new-born day, Sil. 5, 56: terrarum or terrae, the circle or orb of the earth, the world (since the ancients regarded the earth as a circular plane or disk): permittitur infinita potestas orbis terrarum, Cic. Agr. 2, 13, 33: ager Campanus orbis terrae pulcherrimus, id. ib. 2, 28, 76; id. Sest. 30, 66: cunctus ob Italiam terrarum clauditur orbis? Verg. A. 1, 233; cf. id. ib. 7, 224.
    Also, simply orbis (so mostly poet.): hic, ubi nunc Roma est orbis caput, arbor et herbae, Ov. F. 5, 93: unus, Juv. 10, 168; 4, 148: universus, Vulg. Luc. 2, 1; id. Apoc. 12, 9.
    Hence, a country, region, territory: Eoo dives ab orbe redit, the East, Ov. F. 3, 466: Assyrius, Juv. 2, 108: noster, Plin. 12, 12, 26, § 45.
    A kind of fish, Plin. 32, 2, 5, § 14 Sillig; cf. Isid. Orig. 12, 6, 6.
  2. II. Trop., a circle.
    1. A. Of things that return at a certain period of time, a rotation, round, circuit: ut idem in singulos annos orbis volveretur, Liv. 3, 10: insigne regium in orbem per omnes iret, in rotation, id. 3, 36: orbis hic in re publicā est conversus, the circle of political changes, Cic. Att. 2, 9, 1.
    2. B. Orbis doctrinae, an encyclopœdia: orbis ille doctrinae quam Graeci ἐγκύκλιον παιδείαν vocant, Quint. 1, 10, 1.
    3. C. Of speech, a rounding off, roundness, rotundity: circuitum, et quasi orbem verborum conficere, Cic. de Or. 3, 51, 198: orationis, id. Or. 71, 234: historia non tam finitos numeros quam orbem quendam contextumque desiderat, Quint. 9, 4, 129.
    4. D. A circle or cycle of thought: sententiae Pyrrhonis in hunc orbem quem circumscripsimus, incidere non possunt, Cic. Fin. 5, 8, 23; cf.: circa vilem patulumque orbem, Hor. A. P. 132.
    5. E. Esp.: in orbem ire, to go the rounds, go around: quinque dierum spatio finiebatur imperium ac per omnes in orbem ibant, in turn, Liv. 1, 17, 6; 3, 36, 3.

orbus, a, um, adj. [kindr. with Gr. ὀρφανός; cf. Fest. p. 183 Müll.], bereaved, bereft, of parents or children; parentless, fatherless, childless (class.; cf. pupillus).

  1. I. Lit.: senex, Cic. Par. 5, 2, 39; cf.: parens liberorum an orbus sit, Quint. 5, 10, 26; 7, 4, 23: filii mei, te incolumi, orbi non erunt, Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 3, 10.
    With gen.: Memnonis orba mei venio, Ov. M. 13, 595.
    With ab: a totidem natis orba, Ov. H. 6, 156.
    Of beasts: liberis orbae oves, Plaut. Capt. 4, 2, 38.
    Subst.: orba, ae, f., an orphan: ut orbae, qui sunt genere proximi, iis nubant, Ter. Phorm. 1, 2, 75; Quint. 7, 4, 24.
    Also, = vidua, a widow: censa civium capita centum quatuor milia . . . praeter orbos orbasque, orphans and widows, Liv. 3, 3, 9 (for which: praeter pupillos et viduas, id. Epit. 59; cf. Becker’s Antiq. 2, 2, p. 205).
  2. II. Transf., deprived, bereft, destitute, devoid of any thing, esp. of something precious: arce et urbe orba sum, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 3, 19, 44 (Trag. v. 114 Vahl.): plebs orba tribunis, Cic. Leg. 3, 3, 9: ab optimatibus contio, id. Fl. 23, 54: rebus omnibus, id. Fam. 4, 13, 3: forum litibus, Hor. C. 4, 2, 43: regio animantibus orba, without inhabitants, Ov. M. 1, 72: verba viribus, id. H. 21, 142: fide pectora, id. Am. 2, 2, 42: orbus omnibus sensibus, Vell. 1, 5, 4: cubile, empty, widowed couch, Cat. 66, 21: palmites, bereft of buds, Col. 4, 27.
          1. (β) With gen.: orbus auxilique opumque, Plaut. Rud. 2, 3, 19: pedum, Lucr. 5, 840: luminis, Ov. M. 3, 518.