fiscus (noun M) :
* A basket or frail woven of slender twigs, rushes, etc. (like fiscina, fiscella, q. v.); used
* For olives in the oilpress, Col. 12, 52, 22; 54, 2.—Far more freq.
* For keeping money in, a money-basket, or, as we say, a money-bag, purse (cf. aerarium): fiscos complures cum pecunia Siciliensi a quodam senatore ad equitem Romanum esse translatos,Cic. Verr. 1, 8, 22: mulus ferebat fiscos cum pecunia,Phaedr. 2, 7, 2; Suet. Claud. 18.—Poet.: aerata multus in arca Fiscus,i. e. much money,Juv. 14, 259.
* In partic.
* The public chest, state treasury, public revenues: quaternos HS, quos mihi senatus decrevit et ex aerario dedit, ego habebo et in cistam transferam de fisco,Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 85, § 197: qui fiscum sustulit,id. ib. 79, § 183: de fisco quid egerit Scipio, quaeram,id. Q. Fr. 3, 4, 5 Manut.; Eutr. 2, 16; Vulg. 1 Esdr. 7, 20.
* In the times of the emperors, the imperial treasury, imperial revenues, emperor's privy purse (opp. aerarium, the public chest or treasury): quantum pecuniae in aerario et fiscis et vectigalibus residuis,Suet. Aug. 101; 40; id. Claud. 28; id. Ner. 32; Sen. Ben. 7, 6: fisci de imperatore rapti,Tac. A. 1, 37: bona in fiscum cogere,id. ib. 6, 2; Dig. 39, 4, 9 fin.: fortasse non eadem severitate fiscum quam aerarium cohibes,Plin. Pan. 36 et saep.: Judaicus,the tax paid by the Jews into the imperial treasury,Suet. Dom. 12: quidquid conspicuum pulchrumque est aequore toto res fisci est,Juv. 4, 55.

s. TLL