I.ground corn, meal, flour.
I. Prop., Plin. 18, 9, 20, § 88; Varr. R. R. 2, 5, 17; Plin. 20, 13, 51, § 139; 22, 25, 67, § 137.—Prov.: “facis farinam,” i. e. waste, scatter, Mart. 8, 16, 5; Vulg. Matt. 13, 33.—
B. Transf., of the dust or powder of other substances resembling meal: “folia myrti siccantur in farinam,” Plin. 23, 9, 81, § 162; cf.: “gypsum resolvitur in farinam,” id. 36, 24, 59, § 183: “minium tunditur in farinam,” id. 33, 7, 40, § 119; so, “cornus cervini,” id. 28, 11, 49, § 178: “tofi,” id. 17, 20, 34, § 147: “marmoris,” id. 32, 7, 26, § 79: “caminorum,” id. 28, 7, 23, § 84.—
II. Trop., to designate the material of which a thing is composed, i. e. its nature, quality (postAug.): “cum fueris nostrae farinae,” Pers. 5, 115: “Cassius quidam Parmensis quadam epistola ut pistoris nepotem sic taxat Augustum: Materna tibi farina ex crudissimo Ariciae pistrino, etc.,” Suet. Aug. 4.
