grassator

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

grassātor, ōris, m. [grassor].

I A vagabond , idler : poëticae artis honos non erat. Si qui in ea re studebat, aut sese ad convivia applicabat, grassator vocabatur, Cato ap. Gell. 11, 2, 5.—

II A disorderly person , one who goes rioting about (esp. at night, whether for fun and enjoyment or for robbery), a rioter , a waylayer , street-robber , footpad : hoc modo viator quoque bene vestitus causa grassatori fuisse dicetur, cur ab eo spoliaretur, Cic. Fat. 15, 34: grassatorum plurimi palam se ferebant succincti ferro, Suet. Aug. 32: grassatores et sicarii, id. Caes. 72: nocturni grassatoris insidiosa violentia, Gell. 20, 1, 8; Quint. 12, 1, 38: ferro subitus grassator agit rem, Juv. 3, 305.

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