mŭtĭlo, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. [mutilus], to cut or lop off, to cut short, clip, crop; to maim, mutilate (syn.: trunco, tondeo, amputo).
I Lit.: naso auribusque mutilatis, Liv. 29, 9: corpora securibus, Curt. 9, 2, 10: aures naresque, id. 7, 5, 21: mutilatae cauda colubrae, Ov. M. 6, 559: ramos, id. de Nuce, 37: dentem, Plin. 8, 5, 5, § 11.—
II Transf.
A To mutilate , in pronunciation: verba, Plin. 7, 16, 15, § 70.—
B To shorten, to diminish, lessen : aliquem, i. e. to curtail his fortune, rob him , Ter. Hec. 64; exercitum, * Cic. Phil. 3 12, 31: patrimonium, Cod. Just. 11, 33, 1: commoda urbis, id. 11, 42, 2: jura libertatis, id. 7, 22, 2.