ăcervo, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. [acervus], to form a heap, to heap or pile up, to amass (rare, not in Cic.; per. not before the Aug. period). I. Prop.: jam pigritiā singulos sepeliendi promiscue acervatos cumulos hominum urebant, Liv. 5, 48, 3: aggerem, Sen. Here. Fur. 1216: panicum praedensis acervatur granis, Plin. 18, 7, 10: acervantur muricum modo, they gather or collect together, id. 32, 9, 31.—II.Trop., to accumulate, to multiply: leges, Liv. 3, 34; Quint. 9, 3, 47; Plin. 26, 4, 10, 21; 36, 15, 24, 101 al.
ăcervus, i, m. [v. 2. acer], a multitude of objects of the same kind, rising in a heap.I. Prop. A.A heap considered as a body: frumenti, Plaut. Ps. 1, 2, 55; cf. id. Cas. 1, 1, 38; Att. ap. Non. 192, 3: altus, Lucr. 3, 198; 1, 775: ut acervus ex sui generis granis, sic beata vita ex sui similibus partibus effici debeat, Cic. Tusc. 5, 15: acervi corporum, id. Cat. 3, 10: pecuniae, id. Agr. 2, 22: tritici, id. Ac. 2, 29: farris, Verg. G. 1, 185; thus Ovid calls Chaos: caecus acervus, M. 1, 24.—B.A heap considered as a multitude (cf. Germ. Haufen and Eng. colloq. heap): aeris et auri, Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 47.— II. Fig. A. In gen., a multitude: facinorum, Cic. Sull. 27: officiorum negotiorumque, Plin. 36, 5, 4, 27: praeceptorum, Ov. Rem. Am. 424 al.—B. Esp., in dialectics, t. t., a sophism formed by accumulation, Gr. swrei/ths, Cic. Ac. 2, 16, 49; Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 47; cf. acervalis.