Lewis & Short

cassus, a, um, adj., empty, void, hollow.

  1. I. Prop. (syn.: inanis, vacuus; mostly poet.).
    1. A. Absol.: nux, Plaut. Ps. 1, 3, 137; Hor. S. 2, 5, 36: glans, Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 37: canna, unfruitful, Ov. F. 6, 406: granum inane cassumque, Plin. 18, 17, 45, § 161: anulus, Fab. Pict. ap. Gell. 10, 15. 6.
      Subst.: palearum cassa, Sol. c. 52 fin.
    2. B. Expressing that of which the subject is empty, etc., wanting, devoid of, deprived of, without.
      1. 1. With abl.: sanguine cassa (cochlea), bloodless, Poët. ap. Cic. Div. 2, 64, 133; so, virgo dote cassa, Plaut. Aul. 2, 2, 14: lumine aër, Lucr. 4, 368: lumine corpus, id. 5, 719; 5, 757: animā corpus, id. 3, 562.
        Poet.: cassus lumine (= vitā), deprived of life, dead, Verg. A. 2, 85; imitated by Stat. Th. 2, 15; and in like sense aethere cassus, Verg. A. 11, 104: simulacra cassa sensu, Lucr. 4, 127.
      2. 2. With gen.: cassus luminis ensis, Cic. Arat. 369.
      3. 3. With ab: elementum ab omnibus, App. de Deo Socr. p. 46.
  2. II. Trop., vain, empty, useless, futile, fruitless (syn.: inanis, irritus): cassum quiddam et inani vocis sono decoratum, * Cic. Tusc. 5, 41, 119; so, copia verborum, Lucr. 4, 511: vota, Verg. A. 12, 780: fertilitas terrae, Ov. M. 5, 482: fraus, Luc. 5, 130: consilia, Sen. Troad. 570: viae, vain, profitless, Stat. Th. 11, 449: labores, Plin. Ep. 8, 23, 6: manus, without effect, Stat. Th. 9, 770: augur futuri, false, erring, id. ib. 9, 629: omen, id. ib. 5, 318.
    Subst.: cassa, ōrum, n., empty things: palearum, Sol. 52; esp. of speech: cassa memorare, to talk idly, Plaut. Cist. 4, 1, 16; so, cassa habebantur quae, etc., were thought vain, futile, Tac. H. 3, 55; Sen. Herc. Oet. 352.
    Esp. freq. in poetry (in prose, but not in Cic.), in cassum, or, in one word, incas-sum, adverb., in vain, uselessly, to no purpose: ex multis omnia in cassum cadunt, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 147; cf. Lucr. 2, 1165: temere, in cassum frustraque, without aim or purpose, fortuitously, id. 2, 1060; so id. 5, 1002; 5, 1430: furere, Verg. G. 3, 100: longos ciebat Incassum fletus, id. A. 3, 345: tot incassum fusos patiere labores? id. ib. 7, 421.
    In prose: quae profecto incassum agebantur, Sall. H. 3, 61, 11 Dietsch: vana incassum jactare tela, Liv. 10, 29, 2: incassum missae preces, id. 2, 49, 8: aliquid incassum disserere, Tac. A. 1, 4; Just. 11, 15, 6; Lact. 6, 9, 17; Sen. Brev. Vit. 11, 1: frustra in cassumque. Mart. Cap. 1, § 10.
    Also cassum: quid cassum times? Sen. Herc. Oet. 353; cf.: μάτην, frustra, nequicquam, cassum, Gloss. Cyrill.