Lewis & Short

caedes, is (gen. plur. regularly caedium, Liv. 1, 13, 3; Just. 11, 13, 9; Flor. 3, 18, 14 al.; but caedum, Sil. 2, 665; 4, 353; 4, 423; 4, 796; 5, 220; 10, 233; Amm. 22, 12, 1; 29, 5, 27; cf. Prisc. p. 771 P), f. [caedo].

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen., a cutting or lopping off (post-class. and rare): ligni atque frondium caedes, Gell. 19, 12, 7: capilli, qui caede cultrorum desecti, App. M. 3.
    2. B. Esp. (acc. to caedo, I. B. 1.; cf. cado, I. B. 2.), a cutting down, slaughter, massacre, carnage; esp. in battle or by an assassin; murder (usu. class. signif. of the word in prose and poetry; esp. freq. in the histt. in Suet. alone more than twenty times): pugnam caedesque petessit, Lucr. 3, 648: caedem caede accumulantes, id. 3, 71: caedem (the deadly slaughter, conflict) in quā P. Clodius occisus est, Cic. Mil. 5, 12: caedes et occisio, id. Caecil. 14, 41: magistratuum privatorumque caedes, id. Mil. 32, 87: cum in silvā Silā facta caedes esset, id. Brut. 22, 85: notat (Catilina) et designat oculis ad caedem unumquemque nostrum, id. Cat. 1, 1, 2: jam non pugna sed caedes erat, Curt. 4, 15, 32: caedes inde, non jam pugna fuit, Liv. 23, 40, 11: ex mediā caede effugere, id. 23, 29, 15: cum caedibus et incendiis agrum perpopulari, id. 34, 56, 10: silvestres hominesCaedibus et victu foedo deterruit Orpheus, Hor. A. P. 392: magnā caede factā multisque occisis, Nep. Epam. 9, 1: caedes civium, id. ib. 10, 3: caedem in aliquem facere, Sall. J. 31, 13; Liv. 2, 64, 3: edere, id. 5, 45, 8; 40, 32, 6; Just. 2, 11: perpetrare, Liv. 45, 5, 5: committere, Ov. H. 14, 59; Quint. 5, 12, 3; 10, 1, 12; 7, 4, 43; Curt. 8, 2: admittere, Suet. Tib. 37: peragere, Luc. 3, 580: abnuere, Tac. A. 1, 23: festinare, id. ib. 1, 3: ab omni caede abhorrere, Suet. Dom. 9: portendere, Sall.J. 3, 2; Suet. Calig. 57 et saep.; cf. in the poets, Cat. 64, 77; Verg. A. 2, 500; 10, 119; Hor. C. 1, 8, 16; 2, 1, 35; 3, 2, 12; 3, 24, 26; 4, 4, 59; Ov. M. 1, 161; 4, 503; 3, 625; 4, 160; 5, 69; 6, 669.
      1. 2. The slaughter of animals, esp. of victims: studiosus caedis ferinae, i. e. ferarum, Ov. M. 7, 675; so id. ib. 7, 809; cf. ferarum, id. ib. 2, 442; 15, 106: armenti, id. ib. 10, 541: boum, id. ib. 11, 371: juvenci, id. ib. 15, 129: bidentium, Hor. C. 3, 23, 14: juvencorum, Mart. 14, 4, 1.
  2. II. Meton.
    1. A. (Abstr. pro concreto.) The persons slain or murdered, the slain: caedis acervi, Verg. A. 10, 245: plenae caedibus viae, Tac. H. 4, 1.
    2. B. Also meton. as in Gr. φόνος, the blood shed by murder, gore, Lucr. 3, 643; 5, 1312: permixta flumina caede, Cat. 64, 360: respersus fraternā caede, id. 64, 181: madefient caede sepulcra, id. 64, 368: tepidā recens Caede locus, Verg. A. 9, 456: sparsae caede comae, Prop. 2, 8, 34: caede madentes, Ov. M. 1, 149; 14, 199; 3, 143; 4, 97; 4, 125; 4, 163; 6, 657; 8, 444; 9, 73; 13, 389; 15, 174.
    3. C. An attempt to murder: nostrae injuria caedis, Verg. A. 3, 256.
    4. D. A striking with the fist, a beating (post-class.): contumeliosa, Don. Ter. Ad. 2, 1, 46: nimia, id. ib. 4, 2, 19; 2, 1, 18.