Obscuro, obscúras, pen. prod. obscurâre. Cicero. To make darke or dimme: to shadow: to hide: to keepe in silence or from the knowledge of men: to make of no reputation.Nitor solis obscuratur. Catull. Is darkened.Tenebris obscurat omnia nox.Cic.Volucres obscurant æthera pennis.Virg. Obscurare, pro supprimere, tegere, obumbrare. vt, Neque est dissimulandum, quod obscurari non potest. Cicer.We must not dissemble that, which can not be hid or kept vnknowne.Tanta vis est honcsti, vt speciem vtilitatis obscuret.Cicer.The force of honestie is so great, that it hydeth the appearance of profite.Omnia illa quæ bona tu vocas, necesse est obscurari, & non apparere, & in virtutem tanquam in solis radios incurrere. C. It must needes be, that all those things % thou callest good be of no value or estimation, & by the brightnesse of uertue are ouercome as it were with the sunne beames.Obscurat magnitudinem periculi lucrum.Cicer.Gaine maketh the greatnesse of the daunger not to be seene.
Obscurus, Stat. Putris. Lucan. Siccus. Oui. Sordidus. Ouid. Turbidus. Vir. Dust troubled or stirred with the wind. Commoto puluere nubes. Sil. Turbine collectus puluis. Hor. Crines collinere puluere. Hora. Excutere puluerem.Ouid.To shake off the dust.Canitiem infuso puluere fœdans. Catul. Glomerato puluere vndans nubes. Sil. A cloud rising of dust gathered thicke togither.Haustus puluis.Ouid.Nec omne iter puluerem mouet. Quint, Lumina obruere haustu pulueris.Stat.Respersus puluere.Stat.Al berayed with duste.Puluis & vmbra sumus. Hora. Puluis, pro Loco certaminis.Cic.The place where games be exercised.Eruditus puluis.Cic.The duste wherein Geometricians were wonte to drawe their figures.In suo puluere currere. Per translat. To write or speake in a matter that he is wel acquainted with. Puluer, apud antiquos dicebatur: vnde geniti. pulueris.
Lewis and Short: Latin dictionary
obscūro, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. [id.], to render dark, to darken, obscure (class.; syn.: obumbro, opaco). I.Lit.: obscuratur et offunditur luce solis lumen lucernae, Cic. Fin. 3, 14, 45: nitor solis, Cat. 66, 3: finitimas regiones eruptione Aetnaeorum ignium, id. N. D. 2, 38, 96: caelum nocte atque nubibus obscuratum, Sall. J. 38, 5: volucres Aethera obscurant pennis, Verg. A. 12, 253: nebula caelum obscurabat, Sall. Fragm. ap. Non. 489, 10: obscuratus sol, obscured, eclipsed, Cic. Rep. 1, 16, 25; 2, 10, 17; Tac. A. 14, 12; Vulg. Matt. 24, 29; id. Apoc. 9, 2; Val. Max. 8, 11, ext. 1: visus obscuratus,
dimmed eyesight
, Plin. 8, 27, 41, 99.—B.Transf., to hide, conceal, cover; to render invisible or imperceptible: neque nox tenebris obscurare coetus nefarios potest, Cic. Cat. 1, 3, 6: caput obscurante lacernā, Hor. S. 2, 7, 55: caput dextra, Petr. 134: dolo ipsi et signa militaria obscurati,
concealed, kept out of sight
, Sall. J. 49, 5: nummus in Croesi divitiis obscuratur,
disappears, is lost
, Cic. Fin. 4, 12, 3: tenebrae non obscurabuntur a te, Vulg. Psa. 138, 12.—II.Trop.A.To blind, darken, becloud the understanding: scio amorem tibi Pectus obscurasse, Plaut. Trin. 3, 2, 41.—B. Of speech, to obscure, render indistinct; to deliver or express indistinctly: si erunt mihi plura ad te scribenda, a)llhgori/ais obscurabo, Cic. Att. 2, 20, 3: nihil dicendo, id. Clu. 1, 1: aliquid callide, Quint. 5, 13, 41; cf. id. 8, 2, 18: stilum affectatione,
to render obscure
, Suet. Tib. 70.—C. Of sound, to pronounce indistinctly: (M) neque eximitur sed obscuratur,
is pronounced indistinctly
, Quint. 9, 4, 40: vocem, to render dull or indistinct, id. 11, 3, 20.—D.To obscure, cover with obscurity; to render unknown: paupertas quorum obscurat nomina, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 1 (Trag. v. 73 Vahl.): fortuna res cunctas ex lubidine magis, quam ex vero celebrat obscuratque, Sall. C. 8, 1.—E. (Acc. to I. B.) To suppress, hide, conceal: quod obscurari non potest, Cic. Arch. 11, 26: laudes, id. Marcell. 9, 31: veritatem, Quint. 4, 2, 64.—Hence, to obscure, cause to be forgotten, render of no account: magnitudo lucri obscurabat periculi magnitudinem, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 57, 131.—In pass.: obscurari, to become obscure or of no account, to grow obsolete, etc.: sin dicit obscurari quaedam nec apparere, quia valde parva sint, nos quoque concedimus, id. Fin. 4, 12, 29: omnis eorum memoria sensim obscurata est et evanuit, id. de Or. 2, 23, 95; cf. id. Fragm. ap. Mart. Cap. 5, 509: obscurata vocabula,
obscūrus, a, um, adj. [Sanscr. sku, to cover, akin to Gr. skeuh/, sku=tos, ku/tos; cf.: scutum, cutis], dark, darksome, dusky, shady, obscure (class.). I.Lit.: unde (Acherunte) animae excitantur obscurā umbrā, in dark, shadowy forms, Poët. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 16, 37; so, umbra, Verg. A. 6, 453: donec in obscurum coni conduxit acumen,
the obscure point of the cone
, Lucr. 4, 431: lucus, Verg. A. 9, 87: antrum, Ov. M. 4, 100: convalles, Verg. A. 6, 139: tabernae, Hor. A. P. 229; cf. Liv. 10, 1, 5: aliae res obnoxiosae nocte in obscurā latent, Enn. ap. Gell. 7, 16 (17), 10 (Trag. v. 341 Vahl.): nox, Verg. A. 2, 420; cf.: per occasum solis, jam obscurā luce, Liv. 24, 21: caelum, Hor. C. 1, 7, 15: nimbus, Verg. A. 12, 416: nubes, id. G. 4, 60: ferrugo, i. e.
black
, id. ib. 1, 467: dentes, Juv. 6, 145.—Poet.: funda, dark, i. e. invisible, Val. Fl. 6, 193; cf. mamma, i. e.
hidden, covered
, id. 3, 52, 6: aquae, i. e.
turbid
, Ov. F. 4, 758.—Subst.: obscūrum, i, n., dim light, twilight: in obscuro, advesperascente die, Vulg. Prov. 7, 9; but commonly the dark, darkness, obscurity: sub obscurum noctis, Verg. G. 1, 478: lumen, i. e.
darkness visible
, Sall. J. 21, 2.—obscū-rum, adverb.: obscurum nimbosus dissidet aër, Luc. 5, 631.—B.Transf., to the person who is in the dark, darkling, unseen: ibant obscuri solā sub nocte per umbram, Verg. A. 6, 268: obscurus in ulvā Delitui, id. ib. 2, 135.—II.Trop.A. In gen., dark, obscure, indistinct, unintelligible: Heraclitus ... Clarus ob obscuram linguam, Lucr. 1, 639: valde Heraclitus obscurus (cf. the Gr. appellation of Heraclitus, o( skoteino/s), Cic. Div. 2, 64, 133: quid? poëta nemo, nemo physicus obscurus?id. ib.: obscurā de re tam lucida pango carmina, Lucr. 1, 933; 4, 8: brevis esse laboro, Obscurus fio, Hor. A. P. 25: reperta Graiorum, Lucr. 1, 136: obscurum et ignotum jus, Cic. de Or. 1, 39, 177: cur hoc tam est obscurum atque caecum?id. Agr. 2, 14, 35: nolo plebem Romanam obscurā spe et caecā expectatione haerere,
uncertain
, id. ib. 2, 25, 66.—Comp., Quint. 11, 3, 60.—Sup.: videre res obscurissimas, Cic. de Or. 2, 36, 153.—Subst.: causae in obscuro positae, Cels. 1 praef.— 2. In partic., rhet. t. t.: obscurum genus causae, obscure, i. e. intricate, involved, Gr. dusparakolou/qhton, Cic. Inv. 1, 15, 20: (causae privatae) sunt multo saepe obscuriores, id. de Or. 2, 24, 100.—B.Not known, unknown, not recognized: forma, Ov. M. 3, 475: P Ilas, i. e.
disguised, under another form
, id. ib. 6, 36.—Esp. of rank and station, obscure, ignoble, mean, low: non est obscura tua in me benevolentia, Cic. Fam. 13, 70: Caesaris in barbaris erat nomen obscurius, Caes. B. C. 1, 61: Pompeius humili atque obscuro loco natus,
, id. Off. 1, 32, 116: clarus an obscurus, Quint. 5, 10, 26; cf.: si nobilis obscurum se vocet, id. 11, 1, 21; 2, 3, 9: non obscurus professor et auctor, id. 2, 15, 36: natus haud obscuro loco, Sall. C. 23, 1.— Neutr. absol.: in obscuro vitam habere, Sall. C. 51, 12: vitam per obscurum transmittere,
in obscurity
, Sen. Ep. 19, 3: saepe mandatum initio litis in obscuro est,
kept back
, Gai. Inst. 4, 84.—C. Of character, close, secret, reserved: obscurus et astutus homo, Cic. Off. 3, 13, 5 (for which: sin me astutum et occultum lubet fingere, id. Fam. 3, 10, 8): plerumque modestus Occupat obscuri speciem, Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 94: Tiberium obscurum adversus alios, sibi uni incautum intectumque efficeret, Tac. A. 4, 1: obscurum odium, Cic. Fam. 3, 10, 6.—Comp.: natura obscurior, Tac. Agr. 42.—Adv.: ob-scūrē, darkly, obscurely (class.). A.Lit.: aut nihil superum aut obscure admodum cernimus, very darkly, Cic. Fragm. ap. Non. 474, 28.—B.Trop.1. Of speech, darkly, obscurely, indistinctly: dicta, Quint. 3, 4, 3; 4, 1, 79.—Comp.: quae causa dicta obscurius est, Quint. 8, 2, 24.—Sup.: obscurissime particulā uti, Cell. 17, 13, 5: non obscurissime dicere (opp. planissime), id. 11, 16, 9.—2. Of birth, obscurely, ignobly, meanly (perh. only post-class.): obscure natus, Macr. S. 7, 3: obscurissime natus, Amm. 29, 1, 5.— 3.Covertly, closely, secretly: malum obscure serpens, Cic. Cat. 4, 3, 6: tacite obscureque perire, id. Quint. 15, 50: non obscure ferre aliquid, id. Clu. 19, 54; cf. id. Par. 6, 1, 45; Hirt. B. G. 8, 54.—Comp.: ceteri sunt obscurius iniqui,
more secretly
, Cic. Fam. 1, 5, b, 2.—Sup.: avertere aliquid de publico quam obscurissime, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 24, 53.