Lewis & Short

praebĕo, ŭi, ĭtum (old inf. praeberier, Plaut. Poen. 1, 1, 49; id. Am. 4, 2, 7), 2, v. a. [contr. from praehibeo, q. v. from prae-habeo], to hold forth, reach out, proffer, offer (class., esp. in the trop. signif.; syn.: ministro, suppedito, suggero).

  1. I. Lit.: canis parvulo praebens ubera, Just. 1, 4: cibum de manu, Col. 9, 1, 6: collum cultris, Juv 10, 269: praebenda gladio cervix, id. 10, 345: jugulum, Sen. Agam. 973: cervicem, Petr. 97: os ad contumeliam, Liv. 4, 35: verberibus manus, Ov. A. A. 1, 16: aures, to give ear, listen, attend, Liv. 38, 52; Vulg.Sap. 6, 3: aurem, id. Job, 6, 28.
  2. II. Transf., in gen., to give, grant, furnish, supply: aurum, vestem, purpuram Bene praebeo, nec quicquam eges, Plaut. Men. 1, 2, 11: panem, Nep. Them. 10, 3: sumptum, Just. 31, 4, 1: spectaculum, Sall. J. 14, 23: sponsalia, Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 6, 1: vicem, to supply the place of: vicem postium, to supply the place of posts, serve as posts, Plin. 8, 10, 10, § 31: eundem usum, id. 28, 11, 49, § 179.
    1. B. Trop., to give, grant, furnish, render, cause, make, occasion; to show, exhibit, represent; and with se, to show, approve, behave one’s self in a certain manner: operam reipublicae, Liv. 5, 4: materiam seditionis, id. 3, 46: honorem alicui, Plin. 15, 4, 5, § 19 (al. perhibuit): fidem alicui in periculis, Nep. Att. 4, 4.
      Esp. with se and acc. of adj.: se talem alicui, qualem, etc., Cic. Rosc. Am. 4, 11: in re misericordem et in testimonio religiosum se praebuit, id. Caecin. 10, 26: Pompeius se auctorem meae salutis praebuit, id. Sest. 50, 107: in eo vehementer se moderatum praebere, id. Off. 2, 21, 73: se in malis hominem praebuit, id. Fam. 15, 17, 3: se dignum suis majoribus, id. ib. 2, 18, 3: in eos, qui ea perficere voluerunt, me severum vehementemque praebeo, id. Cat. 4, 6, 12: me similem in utroque praebui, towards both, id. Sull. 8, 16.
      With nom. of adj. (very rare): ut vobis videtur, praebebit se periculis fortis, Sen. Ep. 85, 26.
      With abl.: pari se virtute praebuit, Nep. Dat. 2, 1: in eo magistratu pari diligentiā se Hannibal praebuit, id. Hann. 7, 5.
      So, also, without se: Phormio in hac re ut aliis strenuum hominem praebuit, Ter. Phorm. 3, 1, 12; so, too, in neutr. signif. of a woman, to surrender herself to her lover: odi quae praebet, quia sit praebere necesse, Ov. A. A. 2, 685: praebere se legibus, i. e. to resign one’s self to, submit to, Sen. Ep. 70, 9: praebere causam tollendi indutias, to give, Liv. 30, 4: suspicionem insidiarum, Nep. Dat. 10, 3: spem impunitatis aut locum peccandi, Col. 11, 1: gaudium et metum, Liv. 25, 27: tumultum, id. 28, 1: opinionem timoris, Caes. B. G. 3, 17: sonitum, Liv. 7, 36: caput argutae historiae, matter for an entertaining story, Prop. 3 (4), 20, 28: ludos, to furnish sport, Ter. Eun. 5, 6, 9.
      With an obj.-clause, to permit, allow, let a thing be done (poet.): quae toties rapta est, praebuit ipsa rapi, suffered herself to be carried off, Ov. H. 5, 132.
      Hence, praebĭta, ōrum, n., what is furnished for support, allowance (postAug.): annua, Col. 1, 8, 17: praebitis annuis privavit, Suet. Tib. 50.