verbthird conjugation
carpō
carpō (present infinitive carpere, perfect active carpsī, supine carptum)
Classical[ˈkar.poː]Ecclesiastical[ˈkar.po]
carptus perf. pass. ptcp.Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- literallyto pluck, pick, harvest
Stāgna tamen timeat, nec carpat ab arbore flōrēs,
May he fear the ponds, and may he not pick flowers from the trees, and may he think all trees to be bodies of goddesses.8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 9.380–381 - to tear off, tear out, rend, separate a whole into single parts, to cut to pieces, divide
[…]crīnemque genāsque
[…] and she tore off her hair and her cheeks, sorrowful, amid the traces of her previous sleep.c. 90 CE, Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 8.7–8Oculī parentis pūnientur ācrius
The parent's eyes are more intensely punished than if bloody nails were to tear at her limbs.c. 400 CE, Prudentius, Liber Peristephanon 10.694–695 - to spin
[…]Mīlēsia vellera nymphae carpēbant[…]
[…] the nymphs were spinning Milesian wool […]c. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Vergilius, Georgicon 4.334–335 - to make good use of, enjoy something (usually a period of time)
Sapiās, vīna liquēs, et spatiō brevī spem longam resecēs. Dum loquimur, fūgerit invida
Be wise, make wine, and in a short time, lose any great hope. As we speak, time is cruelly fleeing away. Enjoy the day, believing the least in the future.23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horatius, Carmina 1.11.6–8Tēctīs hīc Turnus in altīs
Here and now, in a high floor, Turnus was enjoying his rest in the middle of the dark night.29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 7.413–414 - figurativelyof the effect of plucking: to tear or wear away or apart, pull to pieces, consume, waste
At rēgīna, gravī iamdūdum saucia cūrā,
But the queen, long since troubled by her deep anxiety, nurtures [love’s] wound with her life-blood, and is being consumed by a hidden fire. (In other words, Dido feels the intense emotion and physical sensations of falling in love.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.1-2 - to revile, criticize, slander, carp at
At lubet innūptīs fīctō tē carpere questū.
But maidens like to chide you with feigned complaint. What then, if they chide him whom in their secret heart they desire?c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 62Paulum, cui ipsī quoque sē conparāre ērubuissent, obtrectātiō carpsit.
Criticism reviled Paulus, a man that people would have blushed to compare themselves to.59 BCE – 17 CE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita libri 45.35.5 - to weaken, harass an enemy
Relinquēbātur Caesarī nihil, nisi utī equitātū agmen adversāriōrum male habēret et carperet.
No option remained to Cesar, other than annoying and harassing the enemy army with the cavalry.c. 48 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello civili 1.63
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
manū dēmō, ut flōrēs pōmaque; quī ūvās carpit, vīnum parat.carpō -ere — in Mille Verba, Arborēs et Plantae
verbīs mordeōcarpō -ere (hōc locō) — in Epistulae, ch. 5
hīc: reprehendō, vitium inveniōcarpō -ere — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 12
Conjugation conjugation 3
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | carpō | carpēbam | carpam | carpsī | carpseram | carpserō |
| 2nd sg. | carpis | carpēbās | carpēs | carpsistī | carpserās | carpseris |
| 3rd sg. | carpit | carpēbat | carpet | carpsit | carpserat | carpserit |
| 1st pl. | carpimus | carpēbāmus | carpēmus | carpsimus | carpserāmus | carpserimus |
| 2nd pl. | carpitis | carpēbātis | carpētis | carpsistis | carpserātis | carpseritis |
| 3rd pl. | carpunt | carpēbant | carpent | carpsērunt carpsēre | carpserant | carpserint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | carpam | carperem | carpserim | carpsissem |
| 2nd sg. | carpās | carperēs | carpserīs | carpsissēs |
| 3rd sg. | carpat | carperet | carpserit | carpsisset |
| 1st pl. | carpāmus | carperēmus | carpserīmus | carpsissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | carpātis | carperētis | carpserītis | carpsissētis |
| 3rd pl. | carpant | carperent | carpserint | carpsissent |
passive indicative
| form | present | imperfect | future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | carpor | carpēbar | carpar |
| 2nd sg. | carperis carpere | carpēbāris carpēbāre | carpēris carpēre |
| 3rd sg. | carpitur | carpēbātur | carpētur |
| 1st pl. | carpimur | carpēbāmur | carpēmur |
| 2nd pl. | carpiminī | carpēbāminī | carpēminī |
| 3rd pl. | carpuntur | carpēbantur | carpentur |
passive subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | carpar | carperer |
| 2nd sg. | carpāris carpāre | carperēris carperēre |
| 3rd sg. | carpātur | carperētur |
| 1st pl. | carpāmur | carperēmur |
| 2nd pl. | carpāminī | carperēminī |
| 3rd pl. | carpantur | carperentur |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | carpe | carpere |
| pres. 2nd pl. | carpite | carpiminī |
| fut. 2nd sg. | carpitō | carpitor |
| fut. 3rd sg. | carpitō | carpitor |
| fut. 2nd pl. | carpitōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | carpuntō | carpuntor |
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | carpere | carpī |
| perfect infinitive | carpsisse | carptum esse |
| future infinitive | carptūrum esse | carptum īrī |
| present participle | carpēns | — |
| perfect participle | — | carptus carpta, carptā, carptae, carptam, carptārum, carptās, carpte, carptī, carptīs, carptō, carptōrum, carptōs |
| future participle | carptūrus carptūra, carptūrā, carptūrae, carptūram, carptūrārum, carptūrās, carptūre, carptūrī, carptūrīs, carptūrō, carptūrōrum, carptūrōs, carptūrum | carpendus carpundus, carpenda, carpendā, carpendae, carpendam, carpendārum, carpendās, carpende, carpendīs, carpendōrum, carpendōs |
gerundcarpendī, carpendō, carpendumsupinecarptum, carptū
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- novissimos carpere
- to harass the rear.
carpo, psi, ptum, 3 cf.: rapio, ἁρπάζω, καρπος; Engl. grab, grip, grasp.
I. Lit., of plants, flowers, fruits, etc., to pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, gather (class.; in prose and poetry, esp. in the latter very freq.; syn. decerpere).
A. In gen.:
(flos) tenui carptus ungui, Cat. 62, 43; Hor. C. 3, 27, 44; Ov. M. 9, 342: ab arbore flores, id. ib. 9, 380; cf. infra, II.: rosam, poma, Verg. G. 4, 134: violas et papavera, id. E. 2, 47: violas, lilia, Ov. M. 5, 392: frondes uncis manibus, id. G. 2, 366: plenis pomaria ramis, Ov. H. 4, 29: vindemiam de palmite, Verg. G. 2, 90: fructus, id. ib. 2, 501: frumenta manu, id. ib. 3, 176.—B. Esp.
1. Of animals, to take something as nourishment (cf. Burm. ad Phaedr. 1, 28, 4); first, of nourishment from plants, to crop, pluck off, browse, graze on, etc. (syn. depascere); also of flesh, to eat, devour (rare):
alia (animalia) sugunt, alia carpunt, alia vorant, alia mandunt, Cic. N. D. 2, 47, 122: carpunt gramen equi, Verg. A. 9, 353; id. G. 2, 201; Ov. M. 1, 299: herbam, Verg. G. 3, 296; 3, 465; Ov. M. 13, 927: pabula, id. ib. 4, 217; id. F. 4, 750: alimenta, id. M. 15, 478: apes carpunt ex oleā arbore ceram, e fico mel, etc., gather, Varr. R. R. 3, 16, 24 sq.; cf.: apis carpens thyma, Hor. C. 4, 2, 29.—Poet.: Invidia (personif. envy) summa cacumina carpit, Ov. M. 2, 792: nec carpsere jecur volucres, id. ib. 10, 43; cf. Phaedr. 1, 28, 4.—Sometimes transf., of men: prandium, Ter. Ad. 4, 2, 52: carpe cibos digitis, Ov. A. A. 3, 755: pisces, pulles, Mart. 3, 13, 1.—Also, to carve; hence the pun in Petr. 36 fin.—2. Poet., of other things, to tear off, tear away:
summas carpens media inter cornua saetas, Verg. A. 6, 245.—Of wool, to pluck; hence, poet., to spin: vellera, Verg. G. 4, 335: pensa, id. ib. 1, 390; Prop. 3 (4), 6, 16; Hor. C. 3, 27, 64: lana carpta, carded, Cels. 6, 6, 1 (hence, facete: stolidum pecus, to pluck, i. e. to fleece rich lovers, Prop. 2 (3), 16, 8; Ov. A. A. 1, 420): ex collo furtim coronas, to pull off, Hor. S. 2, 3, 256: crinem genasque, to tear, rend, lacerate, Val. Fl. 8, 7; so acc. to Servius's inaccurate account, in a fragment of the Twelve Tables: mulier faciem ne carpito, Serv. ad Verg. A. 12, 606 (instead of the real words: MVLIERES. GENAS. NE. RADVNTO.; cf. Dirks. Fragm. XII. Tab. p. 668): artus in parva frusta, Sen. Thyest. 1061.— II. Trop.
A. (Acc. to I. A.) To pluck, snatch, etc.:
ut omni ex genere orationem aucuper, et omnes undique flosculos carpam atque delibem, Cic. Sest. 56, 119; id. de Or. 1, 42, 191: atque in legendo carpsi exinde quaedam, Gell. 9, 4, 5: oscula, to pluck, as it were, from the lips, to snatch, Prop. 1, 20, 27; Ov. H. 11, 117 Loers. N. cr.; id. M. 4, 358; Phaedr. 3, 8, 12 al.: basia, Mart. 5, 46, 1: gaudia, Ov. A. A. 3, 661: dulcia, Pers. 5, 151: regni commoda carpe mei, Ov. F. 3, 622: fugitivaque gaudia carpe, and snatch pleasures as they fly, Mart. 7, 47, 11: delicias, Prop. 2 (3), 34, 74.—B. Esp.
1. (Acc. to I. B. 1.) In a good sense, to enjoy, use, make use of (mostly poet.;
syn.: fruor, capio): breve ver et primos carpere flores, Ov. M. 10, 85 (cf.: flore aetatis frui, Liv. 21, 3, 4): illa mihi sedes, illic mea carpitur aetas, spent, lived, passed, Cat. 68, 35: diem, Hor. C. 1, 11, 8: honores virtutis, Val. Fl. 1, 177: auras vitales, Verg. A. 1, 388; cf. Sil. 3, 712: sub dio somnos, Verg. G. 3, 435: quietem, id. A. 7, 414: soporem, id. ib. 4, 522: noctes securas, Val. Fl. 5, 48; a poet. circumlocution for vivere, degere, etc.—b. In a bad sense.
(a). To gnaw at or tear character or reputation, to carp at, slander, calumniate, revile:
more hominum invident, in conviviis rodunt, in circulis vellicant: non illo inimico, sed hoc maledico dente carpunt, Cic. Balb. 26, 57: nam is carpebatur a Bibulo, Curione, Favonio, id. ad Q. Fr. 2, 3, 2: Paulum obtrectatio carpsit, Liv. 45, 35, 5: imperatorem, id. 44, 38, 2: quae non desierunt carpere maligni, Quint. 11, 1, 24: maligno sermone, Suet. Aug. 27: obliquis orationibus, id. Dom. 2: nonnihil vocibus, Caes. B. G. 3, 17: aliquem sermonibus, Liv. 7, 12, 12: sinistris sermonibus, Plin. Ep. 1, 9, 5: Ciceronem in his, Quint. 9, 4, 64: te ficto quaestu, Cat. 62, 36 and 37: et detorquere recte facta, Plin. Ep. 1, 8, 6: famam vitamque, id. Pan. 53, 4; Suet. Calig. 34.— (b). To rob of strength, to weaken, enfeeble, wear away, consume; or poet., with the idea extended (cf. absumo), to consume completely, to destroy:
vires, Verg. G. 3, 215; Liv. 9, 27, 6: quid si carpere singula (jura) et extorquere... patiemini, id. 34, 3, 2; esp. of in ward care, anxiety, longing, etc.: at regina, gravi jamdudum saucia curā, Volnus alit venis et caeco carpitur igni, Verg. A. 4, 2; Ov. M. 3, 490; 10, 370: solane perpetua maerens carpere juventā? Verg. A. 4, 32: curā carpitur ista mei, Ov. A. A. 3, 680: aegra assiduo mens carpitur aestu, Val. Fl. 3, 305; Lucr. 9, 744; Sil. 15, 1: invidia carpit et carpitur unā, Ov. M. 2, 781; cf. Prop. 3 (4), 5, 3. non ego Tot tuos patiar labores carpere lividas Obliviones, to wear away, Hor. C. 4, 9, 33; cf.: otia corpus alunt, animus quoque pascitur illis; Inmodicus contra carpit utrumque labor, Ov. P. 1, 4, 21 sq.: aras etiam templaque demolitur et obscurat oblivio, neglegit carpitque posteritas, Plin. Pan. 55, 9: totum potest excedere quod potest carpi, Sen. N. Q. 2, 13, 2.—So, (g). In milit. lang., to inflict injury upon an enemy (esp. by single, repeated attacks), to weaken, harass:
agmen adversariorum, Caes. B. C. 1, 63: hostes carpere multifariam vires Romanas, Liv. 3, 5, 1; 22, 32, 2; 27, 46, 6; cf. id. 3, 61, 13 infra; Weissenb. ad Liv. 22, 16, 2; Tac. A. 12, 32; Luc. 4, 156: novissimum agmen, Caes. B. C. 1, 78 fin.: novissimos, Liv. 8, 38, 6: extrema agminis, id. 6, 32, 11. —2. To separate a whole into single parts, to cut to pieces, divide (syn.: dividere, distribuere): neque semper utendum est perpetuitate, sed saepe carpenda membris minutioribus oratio est, Cic. de Or. 3, 49, 190:
in multas parvasque partes carpere exercitum, Liv. 26, 38, 2: summam unius belli in multa proelia parvaque, id. 3, 61, 13: Erymanthus... ab accolis rigantibus carpitur, is drawn off into canals, Curt. 8, 9, 410. —With a reference to the meaning (a). supra:
si erunt plures qui ob innocentem condemnandum pecuniam acceperint, tu non animadvertes in omnis, sed carpes ut velis, et paucos ex multis ad ignominiam sortiere? distinguish, single out, Cic. Clu. 46, 129; cf.: in multorum peccato carpi paucos ad ignominiam, id. ib.—3. Viam, iter, etc., or with definite local substantives, terram, mare, litora, etc., to go, tread upon, pass over, navigate, sail along or through, to take or pursue one's way (syn. ire):
viam, Verg. A. 6, 629; Hor. S. 2, 6, 93; Ov. M. 8, 208; 11, 139: iter, Hor. S. 1, 5, 95; Ov. H. 18, 34; id. M. 2, 549; 10, 709: supremum iter = mori, Hor. C. 2, 17, 12: gyrum, to go in a circle, Verg. G. 3, 191: fugam, to fly, Sil. 10, 62; cf.: prata fugā, Verg. G. 3, 142: pede viam, Ov. A. A. 2, 230: pede iter, id. F. 3, 604: pedibus terras, pontum remis, Prop. 1, 6, 33: pede campos, Ov. Tr. 1, 10, 23: mare, id. M. 11, 752: litora, id. ib. 12, 196; 15, 507: aëra alis, id. ib. 4, 616; cf. Verg. G. 4, 311: aethera, Ov. M. 8, 219: carpitur acclivis per muta silentia trames, id. ib. 10, 53.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
carpō psī, ptus, ere
CARP-, to pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, gather: flores, H.: rosam, V.: manibus frondes, V.: frumenta manu, V. — To take (as nourishment), crop, pluck off, browse, graze on: gramen, V.: pabula, O.: (apis) thyma, H.: Invidia summa cacumina carpit, O.: (prandium) quod erit bellissumum, pick dainties, T.—To tear off, tear away, pluck off, pull out (poet.): inter cornua saetas, V.: vellera, to spin, V.: pensum, H.: ex collo coronas, to pull off, H. — Fig., to pluck, snatch: flosculos (orationis): luctantia oscula, to snatch, O.—To enjoy, seize, use, make use of: breve ver, O.: diem, redeem, H.: auras vitalīs, V.: quietem, V.—To gnaw at, tear, blame, censure, carp at, slander, calumniate, revile: maledico dente: militum vocibus nonnihil carpi, Cs.: alquem sermonibus, L.: opus, O.—To weaken, enfeeble, wear away, consume, destroy: regina caeco carpitur igni, V.: invidia carpit et carpitur unā, O.: Tot tuos labores, i. e. to obscure the fame of, H.—In war, to inflict injury upon, weaken, harass: agmen adversariorum, Cs.: vires Romanas, L.: extrema agminis, L. — To cut to pieces, divide: carpenda membris minutioribus oratio: in multas partīs exercitum, L.—To take apart, single out: tu non animadvertes in omnes, sed carpes ut velis: carpi paucos ad ignominiam. — To go, tread upon, pass over, navigate, sail through, take one's way. viam, V.: supremum iter (i. e. mori), H.: gyrum, to go in a circle, V.: mare, O.: Carpitur acclivis trames, O.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *karpō, from Proto-Indo-European *kerp-. Cognate with Old Church Slavonic чрѣти (črěti, “to draw, scoop”). Also compare Greek καρπός (karpós, “fruit”) and κείρω (keírō, “to cut off”), English harvest, sharp, shear.
Insular Romance
- Sardiniancarpire
- Sardiniancalpire
- Sardiniancrapire
Italo-Romance
- Italiancarpare
- Italiancarpire
- Siciliancarpari
Northern Gallo-Romance
- Frenchcharpirfrom Old French charper
- Frenchécharperfrom Old French charper
- Picardcarpirfrom Old French charper
Southern Gallo-Romance
- Catalancarpir-se
- Catalanescarpir
- Old Occitancarpar
- Old Occitancarpir
- Old Occitanescarpir
Ibero-Romance
- Portuguesecarpirfrom Old Galician-Portuguese carpir
- Spanishcarpir
- Galiciancarpirfrom Old Galician-Portuguese carpir
In English words that came into English from carpō
- scarce*scarpsus
- excerptexcerptus
- discerpdiscerpō