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.

pāla, ae, f. [contr. from pagela, from pago, pango: pala a pangendo, Varr. L. L. 5, § 134 Müll.], a spade.

  1. I. Lit.: palas vendundas sibi ait … ut hortum fodiat, Plaut. Poen. 5, 2, 58: sarcula VIII., palas IV., Cato, R. R. 10, 3: palae innixus, Liv. 3, 26: juncosus ager verti pala debet, Plin. 18, 6, 8, § 46: palis laxatus, id. 17, 17, 27, § 123; Col. 10, 45.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. A peel for putting bread into the oven, Cato, R. R. 11 fin.
    2. B. A winnowing-shovel, Tert. Praescr. 3; so Juvenc. 1, 371.
    3. C. The bezel of a ring = funda: palam anuli ad palmam convertere, Cic. Off. 3, 9, 38.
    4. D. The shoulder-blade, Cael. Aur. Acut. 2, 35; id. Tard. 3, 2.
    5. E. An Indian tree, the plantain-tree: Musa Paradisiaca, Linn.; Plin. 12, 6, 12, § 24.

† pălē, ēs, f., = πάλη, a wrestling (in post-Aug. poets): unctā pale, Stat. Th. 6, 829: liquidam nodare (al. nudare) palen, id. Ach. 2, 441: jocos, palem, rudentem, Sid. Carm. 23, 302.

Păles, is, f. (m., Varr. ap. Serv. ad Verg. G. 3, 1; Mart. Cap. 1, § 50; Arn. 3, 113), the tutelary deity of shepherds and cattle: Pales dicebatur dea pastorum, cujus festa Palilia dicebantur; vel, ut alii volunt, dicta Parilia, quod pro partu pecoris eidem sacra fiebant, Fest. p. 222 Müll.: ipsa Pales agros … reliquit, Verg. E. 5, 35: silvicolam tepido lacte precare Palem, Ov. F. 4, 746; Tib. 1, 1, 14 (36): fecunda, Calp. Ecl. 7, 22.

pālum, i, v. 1. palus init.

1. pālus, i, m. (neutr. collat. form pālum, i, Varr. ap. Non. 219, 18) [for paglus (cf. dim. paxillus); root pag-; Sanscr. pācas, snare; Gr. πήγνυμι, fasten; Lat. pango; cf.: pignus, pax], a stake, prop, stay, pale.

  1. I. Lit. (very freq. and class.; syn.: sudes, stipes): ut figam palum in parietem, Plaut. Mil. 4, 4, 4; id. Men. 2, 3, 53: damnati ad supplicium traditi, ad palum alligati, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 5, § 11: palis adjungere vitem, Tib. 1, 8 (7), 33; Ov. F. 1, 665: palos et ridicas dolare, Col. 11, 2, 11; Varr. 1. 1.
    The Roman soldiers learned to fight by attacking a stake set in the ground, Veg. Mil. 1, 11; 2, 23; hence, aut quis non vidit vulnera pali? Juv. 6, 246.
    And, transf.: exerceamur ad palum: et, ne imparatos fortuna deprehendat, fiat nobis paupertas familiaris, Sen. Ep. 18, 6.
    In the lang. of gladiators, palus primus or palusprimus (called also machaera Herculeana, Capitol. Pert. 8), a gladiator’s sword of wood, borne by the secutores, whence their leader was also called primus palus, Lampr. Commod. 15; Inscr. Marin. Fratr. Arv. p. 694.
    Prov.: quasi palo pectus tundor, of one astonished, stunned, Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 2.
  2. II. Transf., = membrum virile, Hor. S. 1, 8, 5.