am-pŭto, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a., to cut around, to cut away or off, to lop off, prune.
I Lit., esp. of plants: amputata id est circum putata, Paul. ex Fest. p. 24 Müll.: vitem ferro, Cic. Sen. 15: mergum, Col. 4, 15, 4: cacumen (ulmi), Plin. 16, 32, 57, § 132.— Of other things: praeceidit caulem testīsque una amputat ambo, Lucil. 7, 22 Müll.: pestiferum in corpore, Cic. Phil. 8, 5: umeros, to mutilate , Sen. Thyest. 761: ex ipso vertice capillos, Plin. Ep. 7, 27, 12: caput, Suet. Galb. 20: manus, id. ib. 9: pollices, id. Aug. 24 et saep.—In Pliny also of things that are bitten off: caudas mugili, Plin. 9, 62, 88, § 185.—
II Trop., to lop off , curtail , shorten , diminish : amputata inanitas omnis et error, removed , banished , Cic. Fin. 1, 13: volo esse in adulescente, unde aliquid amputem, id. de Or. 2, 21: licet hinc quantum cuique videbitur circumcidat atque amputet, id. ib. 1, 15, 65: longa colloquia, Sen. Med. 530: numerum legionum, Tac. H. 2, 69.—In rhet.: amputata loqui, in a disconnected manner , in abrupt sentences , Cic. Or. 51: amputata oratio et abscisa, concise , Plin. Ep. 1, 20, 18.