aberro

A New Latin Dictionary by Charlton T. Lewis Ph.D. and Charles Short, LL. D.

ăb-erro, āvi, ātum, 1, v. n., to wander from the way, to go astray.

I Lit.: puer inter homines aberravit a patre, Plaut. Men. prol. 31: taurus, qui pecore aberrāsset, Liv. 41, 13, 2.—

II Trop.

A (Like abeo, II. A.) To wander from , stray , or deviate from a purpose, subject, etc. (Ciceronian): a regulā et praescriptione naturae, Cic. Ac. 2 ( Luc. ), 46, 140: ne ab eo, quod propositum est, longius aberret oratio, id. Caecin. 19; so id. Off. 1, 28; 1, 37; id. Fin. 5, 28 al.—Also without ab : vereor ne nihil conjecturā aberrem, Cic. Att. 14, 22 (with a conjecturā, id. N. D. 1, 36, 100): etiam si aberrare ad alia coeperit, ad haec revocetur oratio, id. Off. 1, 37 fin. : rogo, ut artificem (sc. pictorem), quem elegeris, ne in melius quidem sinas aberrare, that the painter should not depart from the original , even to improve it , Plin. Ep. 4, 28 fin.

B To divert the mind or attention, to forget for a time : at ego hic scribendo dies totos nihil equidem levor, sed tamen aberro, I am indeed not free from sorrow , but I divert my thoughts , Cic. Att. 12, 38; so id. ib. 12, 45 (cf. aberratio).

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