occaeco (obc-), āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. [obcaeco], to make blind, to blind, to deprive of sight.
I Lit.
A In gen. (only postAug.; cf. excaeco): quidam subito occaecati sunt, are made blind , lose their sight , Cels. 6, 6, 57: requirendum est, num oculi ejus occaecati sint, id. 8, 4: in occaecatum pulvere effuso hostem, Liv. 22, 43, 11; Plin. 10, 3, 3, § 9.—
B Transf.
1 To make dark; to darken , obscure : solem vides, Satin' ut occaecatus est prae hujus corporis candoribus, Plaut. Men. 1, 2, 66: densa caligo occaecaverat diem, Liv. 33, 7, 2.— Absol. : noctis et nimbūm occaecat nigror, Poët. ap. Cic. de Or. 3, 39, 157.—
2 To hide , conceal (so in Cic.): terra semen occaecatum cohibet, Cic. Sen. 15, 51: fossas, Col. 2, 2, 9; 10.—
II Trop.
A Of speech, to make dark , obscure , unintelligible : obscura narratio totam occaecat orationem, Cic. de Or. 2, 80, 329.—
B Mentally, to make blind , to blind : stultitiā occaecatus, Cic. Fam. 15, 1, 4: occaecatus cupiditate, id. Fin. 1, 10, 33: nec quid agerent, ira et pavore occaecatis animis, cernebant, Liv. 38, 21, 7: consilia, id. 42, 43, 3: occaecatus irā, id. 8, 32, 17.—
C To render senseless , deprive of feeling , to benumb (poet.): timor occaecaverat artus, Verg. Cul. 198.