lăpis, ĭdis (abl. lapi, Enn. ap. Prisc. 708 P.; gen. plur. lapiderum, C. Gell. ap. Charis. p. 40 P.), m. (f.: tanto sublatae sunt augmine tunc lapides, Enn. ap. Non. 211, 9) [etym. dub.; perh. from same root with rupes; cf. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 545; not connected with λᾶας, Curt. Gr. Etym. p. 542], a stone (cf.: saxum, silex, cautes, cos, calculus).
I In gen.: stillicidi casus lapidem cavat, Lucr. 1, 313: undique lapides in murum jaci coepti sunt, Caes. B. G. 2, 6; cf. Cic. Mil. 15, 41: pars eminus glande aut lapidibus pugnare, Sall. J. 57, 4: lapide percussus, Plaut. Stich. 4, 2, 33: lapidem habere, ut illi cerebrum excutiam, id. Capt. 3, 4, 69; cf. Cic. de Or. 2, 47, 197: consul ingentem vim modicorum, qui funda mitti possent, lapidum paraverat, Liv. 38, 20, 1; Gell. 4, 14, 3 sqq.: e lapide duro parietes construere, Plin. 36, 22, 51, § 171: lapis duritia marmoris, id. 36, 22, 46, § 163: bibulus, sandstone, pumice-stone , Verg. G. 2, 348: molaris, a millstone , Quint. 2, 19, 3; cf.: num me illue ducis, ubi lapis lapidem terit? i. e. into the mill , Plaut. As. 1, 1, 16: Parius, Parian stone , i. e. Parian marble , Verg. A. 1, 593: lapide candidiore diem notare, i. e. to mark with a white stone the luckiest day , Cat. 68, 148; cf. lapillus.—
B Trop. for dulness, stupidity, want of feeling: ego me credidi homini docto rem mandare: is lapidi mando maximo, Plaut. Merc. 3, 4, 47: i, quid stas, lapis? quin accipis? Ter. Heaut. 831; cf. id. ib. 917: tu, inquam, mulier, quae me omnino lapidem, non hominem putas, id. Hec. 214; and with silex (q. v.): tu es lapide silice stultior, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 78; cf.: lapides mehercule omnes flere ac lamentari coëgisses, Cic. de Or. 1, 57, 245: lapis est ferrumque suam quicumque puellam verberat, Tib. 1, 10, 59: aut mare prospiciens in saxo frigida sedi, quamque lapis sedes, tam lapis ipsa fui, Ov. H. 19, 30.—Prov.: lapidem ferre altera manu, altera panem ostentare, i. e. to flatter openly and injure secretly , Plaut. Aul. 2, 2, 18: verberare lapidem, i. e. to hurt one's self more than one's enemy , id. Curc. 1, 3, 41: lapides loqui, to speak hard words , id. Aul. 2, 1, 29: ad eundem lapidem bis offendere, to commit the same error twice , Aus. Ep. 11; so, bis ad eundem (sc. lapidem), Cic. Fam. 10, 20, 2.—
II In partic.
A A mile-stone , set up on the roads at every thousand paces, which made a Roman mile; hence, with an ordinal numeral added to denote distance in miles: ad quartum et vicesimum lapidem a Roma, Varr. R. R. 3, 2, 14; cf.: effoditur ad vigesimum ab Urbe lapidem, Plin. 33, 12, 56, § 159: sacra videt fieri sextus ab Urbe lapis, Ov. F. 6, 682: intra vicesimum lapidem, Liv. 5, 4 fin. : duodecimum apud lapidem, Tac. A. 3, 45: a tertio lapide, Flor. 2, 6 fin. : ad lapidem undecimum, Paul. ex Fest. p. 250 Müll.—Sometimes ellipt. without lapis: ad duodecimum a Cremona, Tac. H. 2, 24: ad quartum, id. ib. 2, 39: ad octavum, id. ib. 3, 15.—
B The stone or stone elevation on which the praetor stood at slavesales : in eo ipso astas lapide, ubi praeco praedicat, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 7, 17; Col. 3, 3, 8: praeter duos de lapide emptos tribunos, Cic. Pis. 15, 35.—
C Terminalis, a landmark, boundary-stone , Amm. 18, 2, 15; called lapis alone, Lact. 1, 20 fin. ; so, lapis sacer, Liv. 41, 13; cf.: non fixus in agris, qui regeret certis finibus arva, lapis, Tib. 1, 3, 44; cf. id. 1, 1, 12.—
D A gravestone, tombstone , Prop. 3 (4), 1, 37; Tib. 1, 3, 54; called also ultimus, Prop. 1, 17, 20.—
E A precious stone, gem, jewel, pearl (mostly poet.), Cat. 69, 3: gemmas et lapides, Hor. C. 3, 24, 48: clari lapides, id. ib. 4, 13, 14; Ov. A. A. 1, 432; Sil. 12, 231; Mart. 11, 50, 4; Tac. A. 3, 53; Macr. S. 7, 13, 11.—
F A statue : Jovem lapidem jurare, the statue of Jupiter at the Capitol , Cic. Fam. 7, 12, 2; Gell. 1, 21, 4; v. Iuppiter.—*
2 Meton.: albus, a table of white marble, a marble table , Hor. S. 1, 6, 116.