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.

sperno, sprēvi, sprētum, 3

    (
  1. I. perf. sync. sprērunt, Prud. Dittoch. 31), v. a. [root spar-, to part; Sanscr. spar-itar, enemy; cf. Lat. parcus; Germ. sperren], to sever, separate, remove (syn.: segrego, separo; perh. only in the foll. passages): jus atque aequom se a malis spernit procul, Enn. ap. Non. 399, 10 (Trag. v. 224 Vahl.): nunc spes, opes auxiliaque a me segregant spernuntque se, Plaut. Capt. 3, 3, 2 Brix ad loc.: ille illas spernit segregatque ab se omnis extra te unam, id. Mil. 4, 6, 17 Lorenz ad loc.
  2. II. Transf., subject., to despise, contemn, reject, scorn, spurn (the class. signif.; esp. freq. after the Aug. period; syn.: contemnere, despicere; pro nihilo putare, etc.; opp. colere): meam speciem spernat (a little later: se contemnit), Plaut. Mil. 4, 6, 20: spernitur orator bonus, horridus miles amatur, Enn. ap. Gell. 20, 10 (Ann. v. 273 Vahl.): non respondit, nos sprevit et pro nihilo putavit, Cic. Phil. 13, 9, 21; id. Rep. 1, 43, 67: cum spernerentur ab iis, a quibus essent coli soliti, id. Sen. 3, 7: sperni ab iis veteres amicitias, indulgeri novis, id. Lael. 15, 54; Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 98: me animo non spernis, Verg. E. 3, 74: comitemne sororem Sprevisti moriens, id. A. 4, 678: quis tam inimicus nomini Romano est, qui Ennii Medeam spernat, Cic. Fin. 1, 2, 4: veritas auspiciorum spreta est, id. N. D. 2, 3, 9: aliorum judicia, id. Or. 13, 41: prodigus et stultus donat quae spernit et odit, Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 20 et saep.: doctrina deos spernens, Liv. 10, 40, 10: conscientia spretorum (deorum), id. 21, 63, 7; 30, 40, 5: ab eo quoque spretum consulis imperium est, id. 41, 10, 9; so, imperium, id. 8, 30, 11: litteras praetoris, id. 30, 24, 3: consilium, Ov. M. 6, 30; Curt. 3, 2, 18: voluptates, Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 55: dulces amores, id. C. 1, 9, 16: cibum vilem, id. S. 2, 2, 15: (genus orationis) spretum et pulsum foro, Cic. Or. 13, 42: haudquaquam spernendus auctor, Liv. 30, 45, 5; cf. Col. 1, 1, 4: haud spernendos falsi tituli testes, Liv. 4, 20, 11: neque morum spernendus, Tac. A. 14, 40: spernens dotis, App. Mag. p. 332.
    Poet. with inf.: nec partem solido demere de die Spernit, Hor. C. 1, 1, 21: obsequio deferri spernit aquarum, Ov. M. 9, 117.

sprētor, ōris, m. [sperno], a despiser, disdainer, scorner, contemner (poet. and very rare): deorum, Ov. M. 8, 613: morarum, Nemes. Cyn. 79: matronalium amplexuum, App. M. 3, p. 137, 39.