Quinquagesimus Septimus: July 9, 2008: Dimico
Theme for this week: Fighting verbs
dimico, dimicare, dimicavi, dimicatum
Definition: To contend in battle, fight; to struggle, contend
Sententia: Gn. Pompeius Magnus piratas in Mare Nostro dimicavit et tribus mensibus eos repulit.
Gnaius Pompeius Magnus (i.e. Pompey the Great) fought the pirates in the Mediterranean Sea (lit. Our Sea) and drove them off within three months.
The definition today again comes from the Oxford Latin Dictionary, having been consulted in a library and duly copied (and now cited!). This word itself isn't used all that much, though "mico" (meaning to sparkle, dart, vibrate, etc.) is used several times in Vergil; in Catullus 64 and 86; and in Ovid's Metamorphoses in Book 1 (Daphne and Apollo). But this word itself was on one of the NJCL vocab tests, and there is a specific list of words which they are allowed to use. So, it can't be tooo rare.
NB: Bold and underline == macron