quam

A New Latin Dictionary by Charlton T. Lewis Ph.D. and Charles Short, LL. D.

quam (archaic form quamde or quande:

I quamde pro quam usos esse antiquos, cum multi veteres testimonio sunt, tum Ennius ... et Lucretius (1, 640), Fest. p. 261 Müll.; cf. Enn. Ann. v. 29, and v. 139 Vahl. So, too, Naev. ap. Fest. s. v. topper, p. 352 Müll.), adv. [qui], in what manner , how , how much , as much as : quam nihil praetermittis in consilio dando! quam nihil tamen, quod tibi placeat, explicas! Cic. Att. 9, 2, A, 1: ut se accusari nolunt! quam cupiunt laudari! id. Fin. 5, 22, 61: quam multa, quam paucis! id. Fam. 11, 24, 1: quam sint morosi, intellegi potest, id. ib. 7, 15, 1: quam vellet, cunctaretur, id. Div. 1, 26, 56: memoriā tenetis, quam valde universi admurmurarint, id. Verr. 2, 5, 16, § 41: quam quisque potest, as much as each one can , Ov. Tr. 3, 4, 75: quam potuit, as far as he was able , Val. Max. 4, 1, 5.—With possum and a sup. : concede huc ab isto, quam potest longissime, as far as possible , Plaut. Men. 5, 2, 81: quam possunt mollissime, as gently as possible , Cic. N. D. 2, 52, 129.—Also without possum : quam maximas, quam primum, quam saepissime gratias agere, Cic. Fam. 13, 6, 5: ut quam angustissime Pompeium contineret, Caes. B. C. 3, 45.— With posit. (post-Aug.): tum Manlius ... quam poterat clarā voce denuntiavit, Val. Max. 6, 4, 1; 3, 2, 1 ext.; 4, 5, 1: dixi de philosophiā quam breviter potui, Lact. 3, 17, 1: tusa cribrataque vino, quam possit excellenti, as excellent as possible , Plin. 20, 24, 100, § 264; 18, 28, 68, § 274.—

B In dependent clauses, indirect questions, etc.: est fidei nostrae, declarare, quam memores simus, Cic. Phil. 14, 11, 29: scio, quam timida sit ambitio, id. Mil. 16, 42: quam id ratum sit, tu judicabis, id. Att. 6, 1, 7: id quam injustum esset, non videbat, id. Off. 3, 21, 82: dici non potest quam sim disputatione tuā delectatus, id. Tusc. 2, 4, 10; id. N. D. 2, 20, 52; id. Ac. 2 ( Luc. ), 17, 52; id. Fin. 1, 11, 37; 1, 20, 65; 5, 12, 35; id. Verr. 2, 1, 18, § 47; 2, 1, 21, § 52; 2, 4, 44, § 98: videte quam iniqui sint, Sall. J. 85, 25; 62, 9: ut sentias quam vile sit corpus, Liv. 2, 12, 3; 24, 5, 2; Nep. Timo th. 4, 2.—

II In partic.

A In comparisons, as , than.

1 With tam : tam ego ante fui liber, quam gnatus tuos, Plaut. Capt. 2, 2, 60; cf. id. ib. 3, 4, 11: si era me sciat tam socordem esse quam sum, id. Cist. 4, 2, 5: tua est imago: tam consimilis est, quam potest, id. Men. 5, 9, 4: tam esse clemens tyrannus quam rex importunus potest, Cic. Rep. 1, 33, 50; id. Div. 1, 6, 10 et saep.; v. tam.—

2 With ellipsis of corresp. tam : homo non, quam isti sunt, gloriosus, not so celebrated as those , Liv. 35, 49: claris majoribus, quam vetustis, rather than , Tac. A. 4, 61.—

3 With sup. and a corresp. tam , by how much the more , the more : quam acerbissima olea oleum facies, tam oleum optimum erit, the bitterer the olives , the better will be the oil , Cato R. R. 65, 1: quam paucissimos reliqueris, tam optimi fiunt, Varr. R. R. 2, 9: quam quisque pessume fecit, tam maxume tutus est, Sall. J. 31, 14.—

4 With magis : quam magis ... tam magis, the more ... the more , Plaut. Bacch. 5, 1, 5.—With tam omitted: quam magis exhausto spumaverit ubere mulctra, Laeta magis pressis manabunt flumina mammis, Verg. G. 3, 309.— With the second magis omitted: quam magis te in altum capessis, tam aestus te in portum refert, Plaut. As. 1, 3, 6.— In the reverse order: tam magis ... quam magis, the more ... the more , Verg. A. 7, 787. —

5 With tanto : quam magis ... tanto magis, the more ... the more , Plaut. Men. 1, 1, 19; so Lucr. 6, 460.—

6 With a double comp. : ne libentius haec in illum evomere videar, quam verius, with more freedom than truth , Cic. Mil. 29, 78: non acrior quam pertinacior impetus Romanorum, Liv. 31, 35: discrimen me occupavit, meliore hostium quam meo tempore, Curt. 7, 7, 9.—

7 Tam ... quam, with the comp. for the posit. , so ... as : per dexteram te istam oro non tam in bellis et proeliis, quam in promissis et fide firmiorem, Cic. Deiot. 3, 8.—

8 After comparatives or words of comparison, than : nobis nihil est timendum magis quam ille consul, Cic. Att. 7, 9, 3: his igitur, quam physicis potius credendum existimas? id. Div. 2, 16, 37; Cassius ap. Cic. Fam. 15, 19, 1; Cic. Pis. 26, 62: majorem pecuniam praetori polliceri, quam quantam hic dedisset, id. Verr. 2, 2, 29, § 70; id. de Or. 1, 36, 167: qui plures milites eorum occidisset, quam quot superessent, Liv. 35, 12.—So after verbs which imply comparison, verbs of preference, excellence, etc.; after praestat , Caes. B. G. 7, 17, 4; after malo : esse quam videri bonus malebat, Sall. C. 54, 5: an est quod ego malim quam? Cic. Par. 1; after statuo , Nep. Dat. 8, 1; after probo , Tac. A. 1, 58; after volo ( = βούλομαι ἤ), Liv. 3, 68, 11; 25, 29, 6.— Rarely quantus is used to strengthen quam , after comp. : de re majore quam quanta ea esset, Liv. 30, 23, 2: implere homines certioris spei, quam quantam fides promissi humani subicere solet, id. 26, 19, 2 Weissenb. ad loc.; 22, 2, 19.— But quam is often omitted after plus, minus, amplius, etc., without changing the case: minus duo milia hominum effugerunt, Liv. 24, 16, 4: plus partem dimidiam hominum caesam, id. 36, 40, 5; cf. id. 29, 25, 2: cum decem haud plus milibus militum, id. 28, 1, 5: ut hoc nostrum desiderium ne plus sit annuum, Cic. Att. 5, 1, 1: ferre plus dimidiati mensis cibaria, id. Tusc. 2, 16, 37: plus quingentos colaphos infregit mihi, Ter. Ad. 199; Prop. 2, 19, 18 (3, 17, 32); v. Zumpt, Gram. § 485.—

9 With sic (poet.): quam multā grandine nimbi Culminibus crepitant, sic densis ictibus heros pulsat, etc., Verg. A. 5, 458.— With sic omitted, Verg. A. 6, 309 sqq.—

10 After aeque , so much ... as : nihil aeque eos terruit, quam robur ac color imperatoris, Liv. 28, 26.—

11 After contra , otherwise ... than , not so ... as : contra faciunt, quam professi sunt, Cic. Leg. 2, 5, 11.— So after secus : ne me secus honore honestes quam ego te, Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 50. —

12 After alius , with a preceding negative, not otherwise than , no other than : nil aliud agens quam ut, etc., nothing else than , Liv. 44, 27, 12: neque aliud totā urbe agi quam bellum apparari, id. 4, 26, 12; Nep. Hann. 10, 1: ob nullam aliam causam, quam ne, from no other cause than , Liv. 45, 25; 34, 2, 12. — Rarely with alius affirmatively (for ac): ipse me paulum in aliā quam prius habuerim opinione nunc esse confiteor, Quint. 3, 6, 63. —

13 After aliter , otherwise than : ne aliter, quam ego velim, meum laudet ingenium, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 9, § 24: ne aliter quam si, etc., Col. 4, 2, 2.—

14 After supra : saepe supra feret, quam fieri possit, more than , Cic. Or. 40, 139.—

15 After ultra : ultra, quam satis est, producitur, farther than , Cic. Inv. 1, 18, 26.—

16 After diversum , otherwise than : pransus quoque atque potus diversum valent quam indicant, something altogether different from what , Quint. 1, 4, 29; cf., after advorsum, only Plaut. Trin. 1, 2, 139 Brix ad loc.—

17 After words denoting number or quantity, which serve for comparison: dimidium tributi quam quod regibus ferre soliti erant, populo Romano pendere, the half of what , half as much as , Liv. 45, 18: multiplex, quam pro numero, damnum est, too great for , greater than , id. 7, 8: ferramenta duplicia, quam numerus servorum exigit, twice as many as , Col. 1, 8, 8.—So, too, after designations of time: die vigesimā, quam creatus erat, dictaturā se abdicavit, on the twentieth day after , Liv. 6, 29: tabellarii venerunt post diem sextum, quam a vobis discesserant, Cic. Fil. ap. Cic. Fam. 16, 21, 1: postridie venissemus, quam ... fuissemus, Cic. Ac. 2 ( Luc. ), 3, 9: postero die quam illa erant acta, id. de Or. 2, 3, 12: saeculis multis ante ... inventa sunt, quam, etc., id. ib. 2, 5, 21. —

18 After the sup. : bellum gerere cum tyranno, quam qui unquam, saevissimo et violentissimo in suos, the most cruel that ever was , Liv. 34, 32.—

19 So with rel. and sup. after tam : tam gratum mihi id erit, quam quod gratissimum, Cic. Fam. 13, 3: tam sum amicus rei publicae quam qui maxime, id. ib. 5, 2, 6: ego sum tam mitis, quam qui lenissimus, id. Sull. 31, 87.—

20 Sometimes with magis or potius to be supplied, more ... than : tacita mulier semper, quam loquens, Plaut. Rud. 4, 4, 70 dub.: pacem quam bellum probabam, Tac. A. 1, 58. —

B In mere intensive expressions, exceedingly , very , quite , indeed : admodum quam saevos est, very cruel indeed , Plaut. Am. 1, 3, 43: nimis quam formido, ne, etc., id. Most. 2, 2, 79: nimis quam cupio, id. Capt. 1, 2, 17: quam familiariter, Ter. And. 136: nam suos valde quam paucos habet, very few indeed , Brut. ap. Cic. Fam. 11, 13, 3: mire quam, Cic. Att. 1, 11, 3: sane quam refrixit, id. Q. Fr. 2, 6, 5.

Related Words