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.

scirpus (sometimes sirpus), i, m.

  1. I. A rush, bulrush, Plin. 16, 37, 70, § 178; 7, 56, 57, § 206; Fest. p. 330 Müll.; Plaut. Rud. 2, 6, 39; Vulg. Job, 8, 11.
        1. b. Prov.: nodum in scirpo quaerere, to seek a knot in a bulrush, to find a difficulty where there is none: quaerunt in scirpo, soliti quod dicere, nodum, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 330 (Sat. v. 46 Vahl.); so, in scirpo nodum quaeris, Plaut. Men. 2, 1, 22; and: no dum in scirpo quaeris, Ter. And. 5, 4, 38.
  2. II. Transf., deriving the idea of intricacy from plaited work of rushes, a riddle, enigma: quae Graeci dicunt aenigmata, hoc genus quidam e nostris veteribus scirpos appellaverunt, Gell. 12, 6, 1.