rēte, is, n. (abl. reti, Plaut. Rud. 4, 4, 27; id. Truc. 1, 1, 17;
I more freq. rete, id. Pers. 1, 2, 22; id. Rud. 4, 2, 9; 4, 3, 81; 4, 4, 124; Varr. R. R. 3, 5, 8; 3, 11, 3; id. L. L. 5, 29, § 130 Müll.; Col. 8, 10, 1; Suet. Ner. 30; Ov. F. 5, 371; id. Hal. 22; Plin. 11, 24, 28, § 81; Sen. Octav. 412 al.—Collat. form, acc. retem, Plaut. Rud. 4, 3, 45; Varr. R. R. 3, 5, 11; 14.— As fem. : tecta porticus sit rete cannabina, Varr. R. R. 3, 5, 11; cf. in plur.: in retes meas incidisti, Charis. p. 20 P.; cf. also Prisc. p. 659 ib.— But the masc. , which Prisc. p. 759 P., and Charis. p. 45 ib., assume, is very doubtful.—Other collat. forms: rē-tĭum , δίκτυον, Gloss. Philox., and rētĭa , ae, f., Plaut. ap. Prisc. p. 759 P.; Schol. ad Juv. 8, 207) [for srēte, from sero], a net (cf.: plaga, casses, sagena): in piscinam rete qui jaculum parat ... dum huc dum illuc reti eos impedit Pisces, etc., Plaut. Truc. 1, 1, 14 sq.: intra rete aves sunt omne genus, Varr. R. R. 3, 5, 14: araneolae quasi rete texunt, ut, si quid inhaeserit, conficiant, Cic. N. D. 2, 48, 123: retia ponere cervis, Verg. G. 1, 307; cf.: tendere cervis, Ov. M. 7, 701; so, tendere, id. ib. 4, 512; 8, 331; id. H. 5, 19 al.: ferre, id. M. 10, 171: ducere in retia pisces, id. ib. 13, 922: praetendere, pandere, Plin. 9, 8, 9, § 29: praetexere, id. 16, 1, 1, § 4: extrahere, Suet. Rhet. 1 al.—Prov.: quae nimis apparent retia, vitat avis, Ov. R. Am. 516.—
II Trop. (very rare, and perh. only poet.), a net , toil , snare : tum retia nexit, Lucil. ap. Non. p. 903 P.; cf.: rete nexisti nostro lecto, Prop. 3, 8 (4, 7), 37: retibus amoris exire (with nodos Veneris), Lucr. 4, 1147: qui albo rete aliena oppugnant bona, Plaut. Pers. 1, 2, 22.