Tormentum, an instrument with which anything is turned or twisted, is applied especially to a military engine for hurling missiles: aciem eo loco constituit, unde tormento _missa tela_ in hostium cuneos conici possent, B. G. 8, 14, 5; the missile itself: quod unum genus tegumenti nullo _telo_ neque tormento _transici_ posse, B. C. 2, 9; a (twisted) cord or rope: praesectis omnium mulierum _crinibus_ tormenta _effecerunt_, B. C. 3, 9, 3; a chain or fetter: nam si non ferat, tormento non _retineri_ potuit _ferreo_, Curc. 227; an instrument of torture: _rotam_, id est genus quoddam tormenti apud Graecos, T. 5, 24; tum _verberibus_ ac tormentis quaestionem habuit pecuniae publicae, Phil. 11, 2, 5; torture, pain: cum incredibles _cruciatus_ et indignissima tormenta pateretur, Plin. Ep. 1, 12, 6; hinc licebit tum dicere se beatum in summo _cruciatu_ atque tormentis, T. 5, 73. Vestimentum, in addition to having its common meaning of clothing: me vides ut sim vestimentis _uvidis_, Rud. 573; is once applied to the covering of a bed: huc est intro latus _lectus_, vestimentis stratus, Heaut. 903. From the above examples it will be clear that at least some _-mentum_ words get precision of meaning from the context. The different means by which the context exerts influence would be difficult to classify; still less could one assert that _-mentum_ tends to have any meaning. Perhaps we should not speak of a word varying semantically when it is used figuratively, yet it is only from the context that we can ascertain whether it is used figuratively or not. A word can be used in a figurative sense only when, in one context, it has certain elements identical with those which it has in another context. The more definite and concrete the object expressed by a noun, the less variability will be expected, either in a literal or figurative use. This is true of the _-bulum_ and _-culum_ words, which, while admitting a small range of variation, are much more limited in their variation than the _-mentum_ words were found to be. The best examples will be given below. Conciliabulum is a place of assembly and is expressly so defined by Festus (cf. Chapter II, p. 25): mulieres _ex oppidis_ conciliabulisque conveniebant, Liv. 34, 1, 6; sacerdotes non Romae modo, sed per omnia _fora_ et conciliabula conquiri, Liv. 39, 14, 7. The following example, however, shows that it may also mean the assembly itself: igitur per conciliabula et _coetus_ seditiosa disserebant, Tac. A. 3, 40. In a few instances it takes on a bad meaning: ne penetrarem me usquam ubi esset _damni_ conciliabulum, Trin. 314; forte aut cena, ut solet in _istis_ fieri conciliabulis, Bacc. 80.