dē-tĕro, trīvi, trītum, 3, v. a., to rub away, to wear away, to wear out (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose; not in Cic. or Caes.).
I Prop.: strataque jam volgi pedibus detrita viarum saxea, Lucr. 1, 315: a catena collum detritum cani, Phaedr. 3, 7, 16; so, vestem usu, Plin. 8, 48, 73, § 191; cf.: detrita tegmina, Tac. A. 1, 18: aurum usu, Plin. 33, 3, 19, 60: pedes (viă longă), Tib. 1, 9, 16: frumenta, to thresh out , Col. 1, 6, 23; cf. milium, id. 6, 12, 4: scillam, id. 6, 27, 10: telephion, Plin. 27, 13, 110, § 137: calces deteris, you tread on my heels , Plaut. Merc. 5, 2, 111.—
II Trop., to diminish in force, to lessen, weaken, impair : laudes Caesaris culpă ingeni, Hor. Od. 1, 6, 12: aliquid velut usu ipso, Quint. 2, 4, 7: fulgorem, id. 10, 5, 16: si quid ardoris ac ferociae miles habuit, deteritur, etc., Tac. H. 2, 76 fin. : ab alio genere vitae detriti jam, Gell. 15, 30, 1: quantum detritum est famae, Sil. 7, 247: detrita bellis Suessa, id. 8, 399: detereret sibi multa Lucilius, would polish his verses , Hor. S. 1, 10, 69 (cf. just before, v. 65, limatior).— Absol. : nimia cura deterit magis quam emendat, Plin. Ep. 9, 35 fin. — Hence, * dētrītus , a, um, P. a., worn out, trite, hackneyed (for which in Cic. contritus): illa in agendis causis jam detrita, Quint. 8, 6, 51.