confero
Latin > English (Lewis & Short)
confĕro: contŭli, collātum (conl-), conferre, v. a.
I To bring, bear, or carry together, to collect, gather (freq. and class.).
A In gen.: ligna circa casam, Nep. Alcib. 10, 4: arma, Vell. 2, 114, 4: cibos ore suo (aves), Quint. 2, 6, 7: undique collatis membris, Hor. A. P. 3 al.: sarcinas in unum locum, Caes. B. G. 1, 24; cf. id. ib. 2, 25: collatis militaribus signis, id. ib. 7, 2: ut premerer sacrā Lauroque collatāque myrto, Hor. C. 3, 4, 19: quo (sc. in proximum horreum) omne rusticum instrumentum, Col. 1, 6, 7: illuc (sc. in castella) parentes et conjuges, Tac. A. 4, 46 fin.: dentes in corpore (canes), Ov. M. 3, 236: materiam omnem, antequam dicere ordiamur, Quint. 3, 9, 8: summas (scriptorum) in commentarium et capita, id. 10, 7, 32: plura opera in unam tabulam, id. 8, 5, 26: quae in proximos quinque libros conlata sunt, id. 8, prooem. 1: res Romanas Graeco peregrinoque sermone in historiam, Just. pr. 1; cf. Suet. Caes. 44; cf. I. B. 5. infra.; Quint. 4, 1, 23: rogus inimicis collatus manibus, Petr. 115 fin.—
B In partic.
1 To collect money, treasures, etc., for any object, to bring offerings, contribute: dona mihi, Plaut. Men. 1, 2, 20: contulit aes populus, Ov. F. 4, 351; so freq. on monuments: AERE CONLATO, Inscr. Orell. 3648; 74; Suet. Aug. 59: EX AERE CONLATO, Inscr. Orell. 3991: aurum argentumque in publicum, Liv. 28, 36, 3: munera ei, Nep. Ages. 7, 3: tributa quotannis ex censu, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 53, § 131: conferre eo minus tributi, Liv. 5, 20, 5: in commune, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 59, § 145; id. Quint. 3, 12: quadringena talenta quotannis Delum, Nep. Arist. 3, 1: (pecunia) ad ejus honores conlata, Cic. Fl. 25, 59: ad honorem tuum pecunias maximas contulisse, id. Verr. 2, 2, 65, § 157: sextantes in capita, Liv. 2, 33, 11: pecunias, Suet. Caes. 19; id. Aug. 57; 30; Just. 3, 6: vinum alius, alius mel, Dig. 41, 1, 7; 47, 7, 3 pr.: sua bona in medium, ib. 37, 6, 1 pr.: magnam partem patrimonii alicui rei, ib. 50, 4, 5: cum et Socrati collatum sit ad victum, Quint. 12, 7, 9.—Absol.: nos dabimus, nos conferemus, nostro sumptu, non tuo, Plaut. Most. 5, 2, 39.—Hence,
b Trop., like the Gr. συμφέρω (v. Lidd. and Scott in h. v. 5.), to be useful, profitable, to profit, serve, be of use to ( = prosum; cf. also conduco, II.; post-Aug., and only in the third person; most freq. in Quint.); constr. with ad, in, the dat., inf., or absol.
(a) With ad: naturane plus ad eloquentiam conferat an doctrina, Quint. 2, 19, 1; so id. 1, 8, 7; 2, 5, 1; 3, 6, 7 al.; Cels. 6, 6, 1; Col. 12, prooem. § 6; Suet. Tib. 4.—*
(b) With in: rursus in alia plus prior (exercitatio) confert, Quint. 10, 7, 26.—
(g) With dat.: Gracchorum eloquentiae multum contulisse matrem, Quint. 1, 1, 6; so id. prooem. § 6; 2, 9, 2; 3, 7, 12 al.; Plin. 20, 6, 23, § 54; 20, 23, 98, § 261; 29, 1, 6, § 13; Suet. Vesp. 6.—
(d) With subj. inf.: incipiente incremento confert alterna folia circum obruere, Plin. 19, 5, 26, § 83.—（ε) Absol.: multum veteres etiam Latini conferunt, imprimis copiam verborum, Quint. 1, 8, 8; 2, 5, 16; 4, 2, 123 al.; cf. Sillig ad Plin. 35, 10, 36, § 67.—
2 To bring into connection, to unite, join, connect: membris collatis, of an embrace, Lucr. 4, 1101; cf. ora, App. M. 5, p. 161, 17: fontes e quibus collatae aquae flumen emittunt, Curt. 7, 11, 3: capita, to lay heads together (in conferring, deliberating, etc.), Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 12, § 31; Liv. 2, 45, 7: pedem, to go or come with one, Plaut. Merc. 5, 2, 41; so, gradum ( = congredi), id. Men. 3, 3, 30; id. Ps. 2, 4, 17; Verg. A. 6, 488.—Of chemical union: dissimiles et dispares res in unam potestatem, Vitr. 2, 6, 4.—
b Trop.: collatis viribus, Plin. Ep. 8, 14, 17; cf.: conferre vires in unum, Liv. 33, 19, 7: collata omnium vota in unius salutem, Plin. Pan. 23, 5: e singulis frustis collata oratio, Quint. 8, 5, 27; cf. id. 2, 9, 3: velut studia inter nos conferebamus, id. 4, prooem. § 1.— So esp. of conferences, consultations, etc., to consult together, confer, consider or talk over together: si quid res feret, coram inter nos conferemus, Cic. Att. 1, 20, 1: sollicitudines nostras inter nos, id. Fam. 6, 21, 2: rationes, id. Att 5, 21, 12: familiares sermones cum aliquo, to unite in familiar conversation with, id. Off. 2, 11, 39: cum hoc in viā sermonem contulit, id. Inv. 2, 4, 14; cf.: cum aliquo aut sermones aut consilia, id. Phil. 2, 15, 38: consilia ad adulescentes, Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 64; cf.: consilia dispersim antea habita, Suet. Caes. 80: injurias, to deliberate together concerning, Tac. Agr. 15; Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 15, 2.— Absol.: omnes sapientes decet conferre et fabulari, Plaut. Rud. 2, 3, 8.—With a rel.clause: fusi contulerimus inter nos ... quid finis, Cic. Fin. 2, 2, 4: ibi conferentibus, quid animorum Hispanis esset, Liv. 27, 20, 4.—
3 To bring or join together in a hostile manner, to set together (most freq. in milit. lang.): (Galli) cum Fontejo ferrum ac manus contulerunt, Cic. Font. 5, 12 (1, 2): signa cum Alexandrinis, id. Pis. 21, 49; cf.: collatis signis depugnare, Plaut. Cas. 2, 5, 44; Cic. Imp. Pomp. 23, 66: arma cum aliquo, Nep. Eum. 11, 5; 3, 6; cf.: arma inter se, Liv. 21, 1, 2: castra cum hoste, id. 26, 12, 14; cf.: castra castris, id. 23, 28, 9; 8, 23, 9; Cic. Div. 2, 55, 114; Caes. B. C. 3, 79: pedem cum pede, to fight foot to foot, Liv. 28, 2, 6; cf.: pede conlato, id. 6, 12, 10; 10, 29, 6; 26, 39, 12 al.: gradum cum aliquo, id. 7, 33, 11: pectora luctantia nexu pectoribus, Ov. M. 6, 242: stat conferre manum Aeneae, Verg. A. 12, 678: prima movet Cacus collatā proelia dextrā, Ov. F. 1, 569: collatis cursibus hastas conicere, Val. Fl. 6, 270: seque viro vir contulit, Verg. A. 10, 735.—Poet.: inter sese duri certamina belli, Verg. A. 10, 147: contra conferre manu certamina pugnae, Lucr. 4, 843: collato Marte, Ov. M. 12, 379.—Absol.: mecum confer, ait, fight with me, Ov. M. 10, 603.—
b Transf. from milit. affairs to lawsuits: pedem, to encounter, come in contact with one, to attack: non possum magis pedem conferre, ut aiunt, aut propius accedere? Cic. Planc. 19, 48: pedem cum singulis, Quint. 5, 13, 11; cf. id. 8, 6, 51; cf.: qui illi concedi putem utilius esse quod postulat quam signa conferri, Cic. Att. 7, 5, 5.—Poet.: lites, to contend, quarrel, Hor. S. 1, 5, 54.—
4 To bring together for comparison, to compare; constr. with cum, inter se, ad, the dat., or acc. only.
(a) With cum: quem cum eo (sc. Democrito) conferre possumus non modo ingenii magnitudine sed etiam animi? Cic. Ac. 2, 23, 73; so id. Verr. 2, 4, 52, § 115: ut non conferam vitam neque existimationem tuam cum illius, id. ib. 2, 4, 20, § 45; id. Sull. 26, 72: cum maximis minima, id. Opt. Gen. Or. 6, 17; Quint. 5, 13, 12; 8, 4, 2 al.: nostras leges cum illorum Lycurgo et Dracone et Solone, Cic. de Or. 1, 44, 197; cf.: illa cum Graeciā, id. Tusc. 1, 1, 2; v. also δ. —
(b) With inter se (rare): vitam inter se utriusque conferte, Cic. Rosc. Com. 7, 20.— *
(g) With ad: bos ad bovem collatus, Varr. L. L. 9, § 28 Müll.—
(d) With dat.: tempora praesentia praeteritis, Lucr. 2, 1166: parva magnis, Cic. Or. 4, 14: alicui illud, id. Inv. 2, 50, 151: lanam tinctam Tyriae lacernae, Quint. 12, 10, 75: ingenia ingeniis, Sen. Contr. 5, 33: illam puellis, Prop. 1, 5, 7; 1, 4, 9: nil jucundo amico, Hor. S. 1, 5, 44: (Pausanias et Lysander) ne minimā quidem ex parte Lycurgi legibus et disciplinae conferendi sunt, Cic. Off. 1, 22, 76; cf. supra, α.—（ε) With acc. only: tesseram hospitalem, Plaut. Poen. 5, 2, 88: conferte Verrem: non ut hominem cum homine comparetis, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 54, § 121: exemplum, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 85; Ter. Ad. 1, 2, 14; Ov. M. 7, 696: nec cum quaereretur gener Tarquinio, quisquam Romanae juventutis ullā arte conferri potuit, Liv. 1, 39, 4; Suet. Caes. 47: census, Plin. 7, 48, 49, § 159.—Of documents: haec omnia summā curā et diligentiā recognita et conlata sunt, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 77, § 190.—
5 With the idea of shortening by bringing together (cf. colligo), to compress, abridge, condense, make or be brief: quam potero in verba conferam paucissima, Plaut. Men. prol. 6; cf.: in pauca, ut occupatus nunc sum, confer, quid velis, id. Ps. 1, 3, 44: rem in pauca, id. Poen. 5, 4, 68; and: in pauca verba, id. As. 1, 1, 75; id: Pers. 4, 4, 109: totam Academiam ... ex duobus libris contuli in quattuor, Cic. Att. 13, 13, 1: ut in pauca conferam, id. Caecin. 6, 17: sua verba in duos versus, Ov. F. 1, 162: ex immensā diffusāque legum copiā optima quaeque et necessaria in paucissimos libros, Suet. Caes. 44.— *
6 To join in bringing forward, to propose unitedly (as a law; cf. fero, II. B. 8. b.): cur enim non confertis, ne sit conubium divitibus et pauperibus, Liv. 4, 4, 9 Weissenb. ad loc.
II (Con intens.) To bear, carry, convey, direct a thing somewhere (in haste, for protection, etc.); and conferre se, to betake or turn one's self anywhere, to go (very freq. and class.).
A Prop.
1 In gen.
(a) With the designation of the goal: quo me miser conferam? Gracch. ap. Cic. de Or. 3, 56, 214: qui cum se suaque omnia in oppidum Bratuspantium contulissent, Caes. B. G. 2, 13: se suaque eo, id. ib. 3, 28: se suaque in naves, Nep. Them. 2, 7 al.: iter Brundisium versus, Cic. Att. 3, 4 med.; cf.: iter eo, Brut. ap. Cic. Fam. 11, 13, 4: suas rationes et copias in illam provinciam, id. Imp. Pomp. 7, 17: legiones in mediam aciem, Auct. B. Alex. 39; Auct. B. Afr. 60: quos eodem audita Cannensis clades contulerat, Liv. 23, 17, 8: parentes illuc, Tac. A. 4, 46: se Rhodum conferre, Cic. de Or. 3, 56, 213: se Laodiceam, Lent. ap. Cic. Fam. 12, 14, 4: se Colonas, Nep. Paus. 3, 3: quo se fusa acies, Liv. 9, 16, 1 al.: se ad Tissaphernem, Nep. Alcib. 5, 2; so, se ad Pharnabazum, id. Con. 2, 1: se in fugam, Cic. Caecin. 8, 22: sese in pedes, Enn. ap. Non. p. 518, 20; Plaut. Bacch. 3, 1, 7 (cf.: conicere se in pedes, Ter. Phorm. 1, 4, 13).—Of things: pituita eo se umorve confert, Cels. 2, 12.—
(b) Absol.: pulcre haec confertur ratis, is borne away, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 6, 27.—
2 Esp., in Ov. M. (cf. abeo, II.): aliquem in aliquid, to change into, transform to something: aliquem in saxum, Ov. M. 4, 278: versos vultus (poet. circumlocution for se) in hanc, id. ib. 9, 348: corpus in albam volucrem, id. ib. 12, 145.—
B Trop.
1 In gen., to bring, turn, direct something to; and conferre se, to turn, apply, devote one's self to, etc.: quo mortuo me ad pontificem Scaevolam contuli, Cic. Lael. 1, 1: (Crassus) cum initio aetatis ad amicitiam se meam contulisset, id. Brut. 81, 281; id. Fam. 11, 29, 2: qui se ad senatūs auctoritatem, ad libertatem vestram contulerunt, id. Phil. 4, 2, 5; id. Ac. 1, 9, 34: se ad studium scribendi, id. Arch. 3, 4: se ad studia litterarum, id. ib. 7, 16; cf. Suet. Gram. 24: meus pater eam seditionem in tranquillum conferet (the figure taken from the sea when in commotion), Plaut. Am. 1, 2, 16: verba ad rem, to bring words to actions, i. e. to pass from words to deeds, Ter. Eun. 4, 6, 4; id. Hec. 3, 1, 17: suspitionem in Capitonem, Cic. Rosc. Am. 35, 100: ut spes votaque sua non prius ad deos quam ad principum aures conferret, Tac. A. 4, 39: lamentationes suas etiam in testamentum, id. ib. 15, 68.—More freq., in partic.,
2 With the access. idea of application or communication, to devote or apply something to a certain purpose, to employ, direct, confer, bestow upon, give, lend, grant, to transfer to (a favorite word with Cic.).
(a) With dat.: dona quid cessant mihi Conferre? Plaut. Men. 1, 2, 20: tibi munera, Prop. 2, 3, 25; Nep. Ages. 7, 3: victoribus praemia, Suet. Calig. 20: puellae quinquaginta milia nummūm, Plin. Ep. 6, 32, 2: fructum alio, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 60; Dig. 37, 6, 1, § 24.—
(b) With ad and acc.: hostiles exuvias ornatum ad urbis et posterum gloriam, Tac. A. 3, 72: Mithridates omne reliquum tempus non ad oblivionem veteris belli, sed ad comparationem novi contulit, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 4, 9: omne studium atque omne ingenium ad populi Romani gloriam laudemque celebrandam, id. Arch. 9, 19; id. Fam. 10, 1, 3: omnem meam curam atque operam ad philosophiam, id. ib. 4, 3, 4: omnem tuum amorem omnemque tuam prudentiam ... confer ad eam curam, id. Att. 7, 1, 2: animum ad fodiendos puteos, Auct. B. Alex. 9: ad naturae suae non vitiosae genus consilium vivendi omne, Cic. Off. 1, 33, 120: orationem omnem ad misericordiam, id. Lig. 1, 1.—
(g) With in: omnes curas cogitationesque in rem publicam, Cic. Off. 2, 1, 2: diligentiam in valetudinem tuam, id. Fam. 16, 4, 4: praedas ac manubias suas non in monumenta deorum immortalium, neque in urbis ornamenta conferre, sed, etc., id. Agr. 2, 23, 60: in eos, quos speramus nobis profuturos, non dubitamus officia conferre, id. Off. 1, 15, 48; so, plurimum benignitatis in eum, id. ib. 1, 16, 50; id. Lael. 19, 70: curam restituendi Capitolii in L. Vestinum confert, i. e. assigns to, charges with, Tac. H. 4, 53: in unius salutem collata omnium vota, Plin. Pan. 23, 5.—
(d) With erga: commemoratio benevolentiae ejus, quam erga me a pueritiā contulisses, Cic. Fam. 10, 5, 1.—
3 With aliquid ad or in aliquem or aliquid, to refer or ascribe something to a person or thing as its possessor, author (in a good, and freq. in a bad sense), to attribute, impute, assign, ascribe to one, to lay to the charge of: species istas hominum in deos, Cic. N. D. 1, 27, 77: res ad imperium deorum, Lucr. 6, 54: permulta in Plancium, quae ab eo numquam dicta sunt, conferuntur ... Stomachor vero, cum aliorum non me digna in me conferuntur, Cic. Planc. 14, 35; id. Fam. 5, 5, 2: mortis illius invidiam in L. Flaccum, id. Fl. 17, 41: suum timorem in rei frumentariae simulationem angustiasque itinerum, Caes. B. G. 1, 40: sua vitia et suam culpam in senectutem, Cic. Sen. 5, 14: hanc ego de re publicā disputationem in Africani personam et Phili contuli, id. Att. 4, 16, 2.—So esp.: culpam in aliquem, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 156; Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 97; Cic. Att. 9, 2, a, 1: causam in aliquem, id. ib. 12, 31, 1; Liv. 5, 11, 6; cf.: causam in tempus, Cic. de Or. 3, 61, 228.—
4 To transfer to a fixed point of time, fix, assign, refer, appoint, put off, defer, postpone (cf. differo): Carthaginis expugnationem in hunc annum, Liv. 27, 7, 5: in posterum diem iter suum contulit, Brut. ap. Cic. Fam. 11, 13, 3: omnia in mensem Martium, Cic. Att. 6, 1, 24: aliquid in ambulationis tempus, id. Q. Fr. 3, 3, 1: eam pecuniam in rei publicae magnum aliquod tempus, id. Off. 3, 24, 93: quod in longiorem diem conlaturus fuisset, Caes. B. G. 1, 40 fin.: alicujus consulatum in annum aliquem, Plin. Pan. 61.—Rarely of place: idoneum locum in agris nactus ... ibi adventum expectare Pompei eoque omnem belli rationem conferre constituit, Caes. B. C. 3, 81 fin.—
5 To bring on, cause, occasion, induce: pestem alicui, Col. 1, 5, 4: candorem mollitiamque, Plin. 35, 15, 50, § 175.