lacerna

Latin > English (Lewis & Short)

lăcerna: ae, f. cf. Gr. ῥάκος, and lacer,
I a kind of cloak which the Romans wore over the toga on journeys, or in damp and cold weather. To wear a lacerna in common was regarded as disgraceful: cum calceis et toga, nullis nec Gallicis nec lacerna, Cic. Phil. 2, 30, 76: negotium aedilibus dedit, ne quem paterenter in foro circove, nisi positis lacernis, togatum consistere, Suet. Aug. 40: cum Gallicis, inquit, et lacerna cucurristi, Gell. 13, 21, 6. Worn in the theatre as a protection against the weather, but thrown off on the appearance of the emperor, Suet. Claud. 6; Mart. 14, 137 lemm. Sometimes wrapped around the head: odoratum caput obscurante lacerna, Hor. S. 2, 7, 55; Vell. 2, 70, 2. Usually of white cloth, rarely black, Mart. 4, 2, 2 sqq.; Sen. Ep. 114, 21; v. also Amm. 14, 6, 9: foeda et scissa, Juv. 3, 148. Also used in the army, Prop. 4 (5), 3, 18; Ov. F. 2, 745; Vell. 2, 80, 3; Isid. Orig. 19, 24, 14: comitem trita donare lacerna, Pers. 1, 54; cf. Becker's Gallus, 3, p. 123 sq.; and v. Dict. Antiq. s. v.