Lewis & Short

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vīta, ae (gen. sing. vitaï, Lucr. 1, 415; 2, 79; 3, 396), f. [vivo; Sanscr. gīv, to live; Gr. βίος, life], life.

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen.: tribus rebus animantium vita tenetur, cibo, potione, spiritu, Cic. N. D. 2, 54, 134: dare, adimere vitam alicui, id. Phil. 2, 3, 5: necessaria praesidia vitae, id. Off. 1, 17, 58: in liberos vitae necisque potestatem habere, Caes. B. G. 6, 19: exiguum vitae curriculum, Cic. Rab. Perd. 10, 30: ego in vitā meā nullā umquam voluptate tantā sum adfectus, etc., id. Att. 5, 20, 6: vitam agere honestissime, id. Phil. 9, 7, 15; cf.: degere miserrimam, id. Sull. 27, 75: vitam in egestate degere, id. Rosc. Am. 49, 144: tutiorem vivere, id. Verr. 2, 2, 47, § 118: profundere pro aliquo, id. Phil. 14, 11, 30 fin.: amittere per summum dedecus, id. Rosc. Am. 11, 30: auferre alicui, id. Sen. 19, 71: in vitā manere, id. Fam. 5, 15, 3: in vitā diutius esse, id. Q. Fr. 1, 3, 5: e vitā discedere, id. Fam. 2, 2; cf. cedere, id. Brut. 1, 4: vitā cedere, id. Tusc. 1, 15, 35: de vitā decedere, id. Rab. Perd. 11: vitā se privare, id. de Or. 3, 3, 9: vitā aliquem expellere, id. Mur. 16, 34: si vita suppetet, id. Fin. 1, 4, 11: si mihi vita contigerit, Planc. ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 24, 1: ne ego hodie tibi bonam vitam feci, a pleasant life, Plaut. Pers. 4, 8, 3: bonam vitam dare, id. Cas. 4, 4, 21; cf., on the other hand: malae taedia vitae, Ov. P. 1, 9, 31.
    2. B. In partic., life, as a period of time = aetas (post-Aug.): ii quadragensimum annum vitae non excedunt, Plin. 6, 30, 35, § 195; 7, 2, 2, § 30; 7, 49, 50, § 160: periit anno vitae septimo et quinquagesimo, Suet. Vit. 18: septem et triginta annos vitae explevit, Tac. A. 2, 88 fin.; Val. Max. 4, 1, 6; 8, 13, ext. 7; Gell. 15, 7, 1; Hier. in Dan. 6, 1.
      Plur.: nec vero, si geometrae et grammatici … omnem suam vitam in singulis artibus consumpserint, sequitur, ut plures quasdam vitas ad plura discenda desideremus, Quint. 12, 11, 20; cf. also in the foll.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. A living, support, subsistence (Plautinian; syn. victus): vitam sibi repperire, Plaut. Stich. 3, 2, 9; cf.: neque illi concedam quicquam de vitā meā, id. Trin. 2, 4, 76.
    2. B. A life, i. e. a way or mode of life (class.): vita hominis ex ante factis spectabitur, Auct. Her. 2, 3, 4: vita rustica honestissima atque suavissima, Cic. Rosc. Am. 17, 48: hanc usus, vita, mores respuit, id. Mur. 35, 74; cf.: inquirendo in utriusque vitam et mores, Liv. 40, 16, 2; so (with mores) Ov. H. 17, 172 Ruhnk.: neque ante philosophiam patefactam hac de re communis vita dubitavit, nor was it doubted in common life, Cic. Div. 1, 39, 86: vita, victusque communis, social life, id. Off. 1, 17, 58; cf.: omni vitā atque victu excultus, id. Brut. 25, 95.
      Plur.: inspicere, tamquam in speculum, in vitas omnium, Ter. Ad. 3, 3, 61; cf.: per omnium vitas amicitia serpit, Cic. Leal. 23, 87: (Minos) vitas et crimina discit, Verg. A. 6, 433.
    3. C. Life, real life (opp. fancy or fiction): ex quo est illud e vitā ductum ab Afranio, Cic. Tusc. 4, 20, 45: de vitā hominum mediā sumptum, Gell. 2, 23, 12: nil sine magno Vita labore dedit mortalibus, Hor. S. 1, 9, 60.
    4. D. Like our life, to denote a very dear object: certe tu vita es mihi, Plaut. As. 3, 3, 24; cf. Ter. Ad. 3, 2, 33.
      Hence, mea vita, or simply vita, my life, as a term of endearment, Plaut. Stich. 4, 2, 6; Cic. Fam. 14, 2, 3; 14, 4, 1; Prop. 1, 2, 1; 2, 20 (3, 13), 17.
    5. E. The living, i. e. mankind, the world; like Gr. βίος (poet. and in postAug. prose): rura cano, rurisque deos, his vita magistris Desuevit quernā pellere glande famem, Tib. 2, 1, 37: agnoscat mores vita legatque suos, Mart. 8, 3, 20: verum falsumne sit, vita non decrevit, Plin. 8, 16, 19, § 48: alias in tumultu vita erat, id. 13, 13, 27, § 89.
  3. F. A life, i. e. a course of life, career, as the subject of biography: in hoc exponemus libro de vitā (al. vitam) excellentium imperatorum, Nep. praef. § 8; id. Epam. 4 fin.: vitae memoriam prosā oratione composuit, Suet. Claud. 1 fin.: propositā vitae ejus velut summā, id. Aug. 9: referam nunc interiorem ac familiarem ejus vitam, id. ib. 61; cf. Serv. Verg. A. 1, 368: qui vitas resque gestas clarorum hominum memoriae mandaverunt, Gell. 1, 3, 1.
  4. G. The duration of life (in plants, etc.), duration: arborum immensa, Plin. 16, 44, 85, § 234; 16, 44, 90, § 241; Pall. 12, 7, 17.
  5. H. An existence, a being, of spirits in the infernal regions: tenues sine corpore vitae, Verg. A. 6, 292; cf. id. ib. 12, 952.