in-verto, verti, versum, 3, v. a., to turn upside down, turn about, to upset, invert (class.).
I Lit.: pingue solum Fortes invertant tauri, to turn up , plough up , Verg. G. 1, 64: campum, id. ib. 3, 161: Boreas invertit ornos, upturns , overthrows , Luc. 6, 390: vinaria, to upset , empty , Hor. S. 2, 8, 39: mare, i. e. disturbed , rough , id. Epod. 10, 5: alveos navium inversos pro tuguriis habere, Sall. J. 18, 5: adeo vehementer talum inverti, ut minimum affuerim quin articulum defregerim, dislocated , Ap. Flor. 3, p. 134, 3: si polypus invertatur, Plin. 9, 30, 48, § 91: invertere se, to turn over , id. 32, 2, 5, § 13: cum in locum anulum inverterat, Cic. Off. 3, 9, 38. —
2 Esp., to dip , dye : albentes lanas, Sil. 16, 568.—
II Trop., to invert , transpose; to change, alter; to pervert; to exchange : ut cum semel dictum sit directe, invertatur ordo, et idem quasi sursum versus retroque dicatur, Cic. Part. 7, 24: quae in vulgus edita ejus verbis, invertere supersedeo, to alter , give in another form , Tac. A. 15, 63: virtutes, to alter , misrepresent , Hor. S. 1, 3, 55: lanas, to dye , color , Sil. 16, 569: Vertumnus Deus invertendarum rerum est, i. e. of barter , trade , Ascon. ad Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 59, § 154. —
B Esp. of words, to pervert , misapply , use ironically (cf. inversio, I.): invertuntur verba, ut, etc., Cic. de Or. 2, 65, 262.
V —Hence, inversus , a, um, P. a., turned upside down , inverted.
A Lit.: vomer inversus, Hor. Epod. 2, 63: carinae, Plin. 9, 6, 5, § 15: manus (opp. supina), id. 12, 25, 54, § 121: charta, Mart. 4, 87, 11: submovere Euros Pellibus inversis, turned inside out , Juv. 14, 187.—
B Trop., inverted , perverted : annus, inverted , brought back to its beginning , i. e. completed , ended , Hor. S. 1, 1, 36: pro curia, inversique mores! perverted , corrupt , id. C. 3, 5, 7: consuetudo, Quint. 3, 9, 9: verba, perverted from their proper meanings , ambiguous , Ter. Heaut. 372; so, too, verba, dark , obscure , Lucr. 1, 642. — Neutr. sing. as adv.: inversum , upside down : surculis inversum superpositis, Sol. 8.