cavillor
τραχὺς ἐντεῦθεν μελάμπυγός τε τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἅπασιν → he is a tough black-arse towards his enemies, he is a veritable Heracles towards his enemies
Latin > English (Lewis & Short)
căvillor: ātus, 1, v. n. and
I a. cavilla, to practise jeering or mocking; or (act.) to censure, criticise; to satirize in jest or earnest, to jest, etc. (syn.: jocari, ludere, illudere).
(a) Absol.: familiariter cum ipso etiam cavillor ac jocor, Cic. Att. 2, 1, 5; cf. Liv. 39, 13, 3; 39, 42, 9; Suet. Tib. 8: facetissime apud aliquem, Gell. 5, 5, 1.—
(b) With acc.: togam ejus praetextam, Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 10 (12), 2: hanc artem ut tenuem ac jejunam, Quint. 1, 4, 5: verba patrum, Tac. A. 1, 46: tribunos plebis, Liv. 2, 58, 9: milites Romanos, id. 5, 15, 4 et saep.—Hence, cavillatus in pass. sense, App. M. 9, p. 230.—
(g) With an objective clause: in eo et etiam cavillatus est, aestate grave esse aureum amiculum, hieme frigidum, Cic. N. D. 3, 34, 83. —*
II Meton., to reason captiously, to use sophisms, to quibble, Liv. 3, 20, 4; Plin. 11, 51, 112, § 267; 35, 10, 36, § 85.
Latin > French (Gaffiot 2016)
căvillor,¹³ ātus sum, ārī, tr. et intr.
1 plaisanter, dire en plaisantant, se moquer de : cum eo cavillor Cic. Att. 2, 1, 5, je plaisante avec lui ; cavillans vocare... Liv. 2, 58, 9, il appelait ironiquement...
