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.

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, of an obscure, ignoble family, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 70, 181: obscuris orti majoribus, from obscure ancestors, 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.