noun

bractĕa

gen. bracteae · gender feminine · decl. 1st

(also ), , perh. kindr. with βράχω, to rattle

a thin plate of metal; gold-leaf •

a thin plate of metal, gold-leaf (thicker plates of metal are called laminae; cf. Isid. Orig. 16, 18, 2: bractea dicitur tenuissima lamina): aranea bratteaque auri, * Lucr. 4, 729: leni crepitabat brattea vento, Verg. A. 6, 209: inspice, quam tenuis bractea ligna tegat, Ov. A. A. 3, 232; Mart. 8, 33, 6; Plin. 33, 3, 19, § 61; cf. argenteae, id. 37, 7, 31, § 105.—

poetic •

Poet.: viva, the golden fleece of Spanish sheep, Mart. 9, 62, 4.—

thin layers of wood, veneers by metonymy •

Meton., thin layers of wood, veneers (opp. lamina): ligni, Plin. 16, 43, 84, § 232.—

show; glitter figuratively

Trop., show, glitter: eloquentiae, Sol. praef. 2.

Perseus ID: n5640 Key: bractea