abscido
καλῶς δρῶν ἐξαμαρτεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ νικᾶν κακῶς → I would prefer to fail with honor than to win by evil | I prefer to fail by acting rightly rather than win by acting wrongly | Better fail by doing right, than win by doing wrong (Sophocles, Philoctetes 95)
Latin > English (Lewis & Short)
abs-cīdo: cīdi, cīsum, 3, v. a. caedo,
I to cut off with a sharp instrument (diff. from ab-scindo, to break or tear off as with the hand); the former corresponds to praecidere, the latter to avellere, v. Liv. 31, 34, 4 Drak.
I Lit.: caput, Cic. Phil. 11, 2, 5; Liv. 4, 19; Verg. A. 12, 511 al.; so, membra, Lucr. 3, 642: bracchium, Liv. 4, 28, 8: collum, Sil. 15, 473: dextram, Suet. Caes. 68: linguam, Plaut. Am. 2, 1, 7; Suet. Calig. 27 al.: comas alicui, Luc. 6, 568: truncos arborum et ramos, Caes. B. G. 7, 73, 2.—
II Trop., to cut off, deprive of; to detract: spem (alicui), Liv. 4, 10, 4; 24, 30, 12; 35, 45, 6: orationem alicui, id. 45, 37, 9: omnium rerum respectum sibi, id. 9, 23, 12: omnia praesidia, Tac. H. 3, 78: vocem, Vell. 2, 66; cf. Quint. 8, 3, 85.—Absol.: quarum (orationum) alteram non libebat mihi scribere, quia abscideram, had broken off, Cic. Att. 2, 7.—Hence, abscīsus, a, um, P. a., cut off.
A Of places, steep, precipitous (cf. abruptus): saxum undique abscisum, Liv. 32, 4, 5; so id. 32, 25, 36: rupes, id. 32, 5, 12.—
B Of speech, abrupt, concise, short: in voce aut omnino suppressā, aut etiam abscisā, Quint. 8, 3, 85; 9, 4, 118 Halm (al. abscissa): asperum et abscisum castigationis genus, Val. Max. 2, 7, 14: responsum, id. 3, 8, 3: sententia, id. 6, 3, 10; cf. in comp.: praefractior atque abscisior justitia, id. 6, 5, ext. 4.—Sup. prob. not used.—Adv.: abscīsē, cut off; hence, of speech, concisely, shortly, distinctly, Val. Max. 3, 7, ext. 6; Dig. 50, 6, 5, § 2.
