līma, ae, f. [etym. unknown], a file.
I Lit.: limā proterere aliquid, Plaut. Men. 1, 1, 9: limā aliquid avellere, Plin. 9, 35, 54, § 109: limā aliquid polire, id. 28, 9, 41, § 148: topazius limam sentit, id. 37, 8, 32, § 109: confitendum est detrahere doctrinam aliquid, ut limam rudibus, * Quint. 2, 12, 8: vipera limam momordit, Phaedr. 4, 8, 5.—
II Trop., a file , as applied to literary compositions, i. e. polishing, revision (not in Cic.; cf., however, limatus, under limo): defuit et scriptis ultima lima meis, Ov. Tr. 1, 7, 30: incipiam limā mordacius uti, Et sub judicium singula verba vocem, id. P. 1, 5, 19: limae labor et mora, Hor. A. P. 291: carmina rasa limā recenti, Mart. 10, 2, 3: in illis limae, in hoc plus videtur fuisse sanguinis, Vell. 2, 9, 2: ad limam consilii desiderium petitoris distulit, Ap. Met. 8, 8, 14.