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.

scaena, ae (falsely scēna, v. Prol. in Verg. p. 387 Rib.), f., = σκηνή.

  1. I. Lit., the stage, boards, scene of a theatre: dum histrio in scaenă siet, Plaut. Poen. prol. 20: in scaenă esse Roscium intellegat, Cic. Brut. 84, 290: foris hic extra scaenam fient proelia, Plaut. Capt. prol. 60: cum scaena croco Cilici perfusa recens est, Lucr. 2, 416: scaenaique simul varios splendere decores, id. 4, 983: scaenae magnificentia, Cic. Mur. 19, 38: nec vero scaena solum referta est his sceleribus, id. N. D. 3, 27, 69: vel scaena ut versis discedat frontibus, Verg. G. 3, 24; Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 205 et saep.
    Plur.: columnas excidunt, scaenis decora alta futuris, a theatre, Verg. A. 1, 429: aut Agamemnonius scaenis agitatus Orestes, on the stage, i. e. in tragedies, Verg. A. 4, 471: aut agitur res in scaenis, Hor. A. P. 179.
    1. B. Transf.
      1. 1. Of a place like a scene of a theatre, Verg. A. 1, 164.
      2. 2. (Post-Aug.) Of the schools of rhetoric, as scenes for the display of eloquence: at nunc adulescentuli deducuntur in scaenas scholasticorum, qui rhetores vocantur, Tac. Or. 35; cf. Plin Ep. 7, 17, 9.
  2. II. Trop.
      1. 1. The public stage, the public: quia maxima quasi oratori scaena videatur contionis, Cic. de Or. 2, 83, 338; id. Planc. 12, 29: ubi se a vulgo et scaena in secreta remorant Virtus Scipiadae et mitis sapientia Laeli, Hor. S. 2, 1, 71.
        Prov.: scaenae servire, to show one’s self, live in the public eye, Cic. Ep. ad Brut. 8, 2.
      2. 2. Outward show, parade, pretext: scaena rei totius haec: Pompeius, tamquam Caesarem non impugnet, etc., Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 11, 3; cf.: ne quid scaenae deesset, Petr. 117, 10; Suet. Calig. 15: scaenam ultro criminis parat, Tac. A. 14, 7 fin.
      3. 3. Appearance, character: scaenam quam sponte sumpserat cum animă retinens, App. M. 4, 20, p. 151, 29.