Lewis Short
(verb) : ob-tendo, di, tum, 3
* To draw, stretch, spread, or place before (cf. obtego; not freq. till after the Aug. per.).
* Lit.
* Transf., to cover, hide, conceal.
* Trop., to pretend, allege, plead as an excuse: matris preces obtendens,Tac. A. 3, 17: ad ea Drusus cum arbitrium senatūs obtenderet,id. ib. 1, 26: valetudinem corporis, aetatem liberūm, nubilem filiam,id. ib. 3, 35: suae imbecillitati sanitatis appellationem obtendunt,Quint. 12, 10, 15: rationem turpitudini, Plin. Ep. 8, 6, 15: qui delictis suis excusationem carnis obtendet,Lact. 4, 24, 10: quid poterimus obtendere,plead what excuse,Vulg. Gen. 44, 16.
* Lit.: obtendunt limina silvis,Stat. Th. 2, 248: lucem pulvere,Sil. 10, 228: diem nube atrā,Tac. H. 3, 56.
* Trop., to hide, conceal, envelop: quasi velis quibusdam obtenditur uniuscujusque natura,Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 5, § 15.
* To spread over, make a cover for: Vitellius curis luxum obtendebat,i. e. sought a refuge from,Tac. H. 3, 36 init.
Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary