suf-fōco (subf-), āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. [faux], to choke, stifle, strangle, suffocate by compressing the throat (rare but class.; syn.: strangulo, elido).
I Lit.: patrem, Cic. Mur. 29, 61: quem crassior saliva suffocat, Sen. Q. N. 6, 2, 4: in melle situm suffocari, to be suffocated , Lucr. 3, 891: vox suffocatur saepe, Quint. 11, 3, 51: suffocatae (mulieres), hysterical , Plin. 20, 22, 87, § 238; cf. suffocatio.—
II Transf.: injuriā suffocante vitem, that chokes , kills , Plin. 17, 23, 35, § 209: urbem et Italiam fame, i. e. to starve , Cic. Att. 9, 7, 4.