Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

tango, tĕtĭgi, tactum, 3 (old collat. form tago, xi, 3: tagit Pacuvius in Teucro: ut ego, si quisquam me tagit. Et tagam idem in Hermiona: aut non cernam, nisi tagam: sine dubio antiquā consuetudine usurpavit. Nam nunc ea sine praepositionibus non dicuntur, ut contigit, attigit, Fest. p. 356 Müll.: PELLEX ARAM IVNONIS NE TANGITO, Lex Numae ap. Fest. p. 222 ib.: sed o Petruelle, ne meum taxis librum, Varr. ap. Non. 176, 18, and 180, 8), v. a. [root tag-; Gr. τε-ταγ-ών, grasping; τῆ, take; Lat. tago, tagax; Goth. tēkan, to touch; Engl. take; cf.: inter, contages], to touch (syn. tracto).

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen.: tangere enim et tangi, nisi corpus, nulla potest res, Lucr 1, 304: tange utramvis digitulo minimo modo, Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 15: genu terram tangere, Cic. Tusc. 2, 24, 57: virgā Virginis os, Ov. M. 11, 308: aliquem cubito, Hor. S. 2, 5, 42.
    2. B. In partic.
      1. 1. To touch, i. e.,
        1. a. To take, take away, curry off: Sa. Tetigintui quidquam? Aes. Si attigisses, ferres infortunium, Ter. Ad. 2, 1, 24: de praedā meā teruncium nec attigit nec tacturus est quisquam, Cic. Fam. 2, 17, 4: quia tangam nullum ab invito, id. Agr. 2, 25, 67; Liv. 29, 20.
        2. b. To taste, to eat, to drink: salsa sunt, tangere ut non velis, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 35: illa (corpora) Non cani tetigere lupi, Ov. M. 7, 550: saporem, id. F. 3, 745: cupiens varià fastidia cenā Vincere tangentis male singula dente superbo, Hor. S. 2, 6, 87: Superorum tangere mensas, Ov. M. 6, 173: tetigit calicem clanculum, has emptied, Plaut. Mil. 3, 2, 10.
      2. 2. Of places.
        1. a. To reach, arrive at, come to a place (syn. pervenio): Verres simul ac tetigit provinciam, statim, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 10, § 27; cf. id. Att. 6, 1, 6: portus, Verg. A. 4, 612: terminum mundi armis, Hor. C. 3, 3, 54: vada, id. ib. 1, 3, 24: lucum gradu, Ov. M. 3, 36: domos, id. ib. 4, 779; 6, 601: quem (Nilum) simul ac tetigit, id. ib. 1, 729: ut tellus est mihi tacta, id. Tr. 3, 2, 18: limina, id. M. 10, 456; Juv. 14, 44: nocturno castra dolo, Ov. H. 1, 42 et saep.
        2. b. To border on, be contiguous to: qui (fundi) Tiberim fere omnes tangunt, Cic. Rosc. Am. 7, 20: haec civitas Rhenum tangit, Caes. B. G. 5, 3: quae (villa) viam tangeret, Cic. Mil. 19, 51: vertice sidera, Ov. M. 7, 61.
      3. 3. To touch, i. e.,
        1. a. To strike, hit, beat (mostly poet.): chordas, Ov. R. Am. 336: flagello Chloen, Hor. C. 3, 26, 12: quem tetigit jactu, Prop. 2, 34 (3, 32), 60: loca tangere fundā, Tib. 4, 1, 97: te hora Caniculae Nescit tangere, to touch, affect, Hor. C. 3, 13, 10.
          Euphem., to put to death: quemquam praeterea oportuisse tangi, Cic. Att. 15, 11, 2: statua aut aera legum de caelo tacta, i.e. struck by lightning, id. Div. 2, 21, 47; so, de caelo tactus, Liv. 25, 7, 7; 29, 14, 3; Verg. E. 1, 17: e caelo tactum, Plin. 36, 4, 4, § 10; cf.: ulmus fulmine tacta, Ov. Tr. 2, 144: tacta aedes Junonis, Plin. 2, 54, 55, § 144.
          Prov.: tetigisti acu (rem), you have hit the nail on the head, Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 19; cf.: tangis en ipsos metus, the thing you fear, Sen. Oedip. 795.
        2. b. To take hold of, to touch, handle, etc.; esp. in mal. part.: virginem, Ter. Ad. 4, 5, 52: cur id ausus’s facere ut id quod non tuom esset tangeres? Plaut. Aul. 4, 10, 14; Ter. Heaut. 4, 6, 15; id. Eun. 4, 7, 27 sq.; Cat. 21, 8; Hor. S. 1, 2, 28; 1, 2, 54.
          Absol.: cibum una capias, assis, tangas, ludas, propter dormias, Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 81 (82): si non tangendi copia’st, id. ib. 4, 2, 10; id. Phorm. 5, 8 (9), 5.
      4. 4. To besprinkle, moisten, wash, smear, anoint (poet. and in post-Aug. prose; syn. tingo): corpus aquā, Ov. F. 4, 790: comas tristi medicamine, id. M. 6, 140: oculos olivo, Pers. 3, 44: superiorem palpebram salivā, Plin. 28, 4, 7, § 38: caput igne sulfuris, Prop. 4 (5), 8, 86; cf.: voluit tangi lucerna mero, id. 4 (5), 3, 60: luto corpora tangit amor, Tib. 1, 8, 52.
      5. 5. To color, dye: supercilium madidā fuligine, Juvenc. 2, 93.
  2. II. Trop.
    1. A. Of the mind or feelings, to touch, move, affect, impress: minae Clodii contentionesque modice me tangunt, Cic. Att. 2, 19, 1: si vos urbis, si vestri nulla cura tangit, Liv. 3, 17, 3: Numitori tetigerat animum memoria nepotum, id. 1, 5: mentem mortalia tangunt, Verg. A. 1, 462: si curat cor spectantis tetigisse querela, Hor. A. P. 98: nec formā tangor, poteram tamen hac quoque tangi, Ov. M. 10, 614: vota tamen tetigere deos, tetigere parentes, id. ib. 4, 164: nymphas tetigit nova res, id. ib. 15, 552: nec amor nos tangit habendi, id. A. A. 3, 541: exemplo tangi, id. H. 15 (16), 326; id. F. 5, 489; Prop. 1, 9, 17: religione tactus hospes, Liv. 1, 45, 7: tetigerat animum memoria nepotum, id. 1, 5, 6: si quem gloria tangit, Sen. Hippol. 27.
    2. B. Qs. to prick or stick one, i. e.,
      1. 1. To take in, trick, dupe; to cozen or cheat out of any thing (anteclass.): tuom tangam patrem, Plaut. Ps. 1, 1, 118; cf.: probe tactus Ballio est, id. ib. 5, 2, 13: tangere hominem volt bolo, id. Poen. prol. 101: istis adeo te tetigi triginta minis, id. Ep. 5, 2, 40: senem triginta minis, Poët. ap. Cic. de Or. 2, 64, 257: lenunculum aere militari, Plaut. Poen. 5, 5, 7: patrem talento argenti, Turp. ap. Non. 408, 28: tactus sum vehementer visco, I am limed, caught, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 2, 39: volucres harundinibus, Petr. 109.
      2. 2. To sting or nettle any one by something said: quo pacto Rhodium tetigerim in convivio, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 30; cf. maledictis, Fest. p. 356 Müll.
    3. C. Of speech, to touch upon, mention, speak of, refer to, cite: non tango, quod avarus homo est, quodque improbu’ mitto, Lucil. ap. Rufin. Schem. Lex. § 12 (p. 274 Frotsch.): leviter unum quodque tangam, Cic. Rosc. Am. 30, 83: ubi Aristoteles ista tetigit? id. Ac. 2, 44, 136: illud tertium, quod a Crasso tactum est, id. de Or. 2, 10, 43: ne tangantur rationes ad Opis, be discussed, examined, Anton. ap. Cic. Phil. 8, 9, 26: si tacta loquar, Manil. 3, 21; cf.: quid minus utibile fuit quam hoc ulcus tangere Aut nominare uxorem? Ter. Phorm. 4, 4, 9.
    4. D. To take in hand, undertake (rare): carmina, Ov. Am. 3, 12, 17: quis te Carminis heroi tangere jussit opus? prop. 4, 2 (3, 3), 16.