flecto — Lewis & Short
flecto, xi, xum, 3, v. a. and n.root in Gr. folko/s, bandy-legged; fa/lkhs, the bent rib of a ship; L. falx; falco, so called from the curve of its claws or beak; cf. Germ. Falke; Engl. falcon.
I Act., to bend, bow, curve, turn, turn round (freq. and class.; syn.: plecto, plico, curvo).
A Lit.
1 In gen.:
animal omne membra quocumque vult, flectit, contorquet, porrigit, contrahit,Cic. Div. 1, 53, 120:
ora retro,Ov. M. 3, 188:
vultus ad illum,id. ib. 4, 265;
10, 236: lumina a gurgite in nullam partem,id. ib. 8, 367:
geminas acies huc,to turn, direct, Verg. A. 6, 789; cf.
oculos,id. ib. 8, 698:
equos brevi moderari ac flectere,Caes. B. G. 4, 33 fin.:
equum,Hor. C. 3, 7, 25:
currum de foro in Capitolium,Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 30, § 77:
plaustrum,Ov. M. 10, 447: navem, Auct. B. Alex. 64 fin.:
habenas,Ov. M. 2, 169:
cursus in orbem,id. ib. 6, 225; cf.:
cursus in laevum,id. Tr. 1, 10, 17:
iter ad Privernum,Liv. 8, 19, 13 Drak. N. cr.:
iter Demetriadem,id. 35, 31, 3:
tu (Bacche) flectis amnes, tu mare barbarum,Hor. C. 2, 19, 17:
arcus,to bend, Ov. M. 4, 303; cf.:
flexos incurvant viribus arcus,Verg. A. 5, 500:
flexum genu,Ov. M. 4, 340:
artus,Liv. 21, 58, 9:
flexi crines,curled, Mart. 3, 63, 3; 10, 65, 6; Juv. 6, 493:
flexum mare,i.e. a bay, Tac. A. 14, 4:
flexi fractique motus,contorted, Cic. Fin. 5, 12, 35:
hinc (silva) se flectit sinistrorsus,Caes. B. G. 6, 25, 3.—Mid.: quasi amnis celeris rapit, sed tamen inflexu flectitur, Naev. ap. Non. 191, 34 (Trag. Rel. v. 42 Rib.):
(milvus) flectitur in gyrum,wheels, Ov. M. 2, 718:
modo flector in anguem,I bend, wind myself into a snake, id. ib. 8, 883:
sol ab ea (Cancri) meta incipit flecti,Plin. 18, 28, 68, § 264: Euphrates ad meridiem flectitur, id. 6, 26, 30, § 125.—
2 In partic., naut. t. t., to go round or double a promontory:
cum in flectendis promontoriis ventorum mutationes maximas saepe sentiant,Cic. Div. 2, 45, 94:
Leucaten flectere molestum videbatur,id. Att. 5, 9, 1.—
B Trop.
1 In gen., to bend, turn, direct:
ducere multimodis voces et flectere cantus,Lucr. 5, 1406:
vocem,Ov. Am. 2, 4, 25:
qui teneros et rudes cum acceperunt, inficiunt et flectunt, ut volunt,Cic. Leg. 1, 17, 47; cf.:
imbecillitatem animorum torquere et flectere,id. ib. 1, 10, 29:
suam naturam huc et illuc torquere ac flectere,id. Cael. 6, 13:
vitam flectere fingereque,id. Sull. 28, 79:
mentes suas ad nostrum imperium nomenque,id. Balb. 17, 39:
aliquem a proposito,Liv. 28, 22, 11:
scribentis animum a vero,id. 1 praef. 5:
animus ab aliqua opinione flectendus,Quint. 4, 2, 80:
animos ad publica carmina,Ov. Tr. 5, 1, 23: quo vobis mentes ... dementes sese flexere viaï? Enn. ap. Cic. de Sen. 6, 16 (Ann. v. 209 ed. Vahl.):
est viri et ducis oblata casu flectere ad consilium,Liv. 28, 44, 8:
juvenis cereus in vitium flecti,Hor. A. P. 163:
quod procul a nobis flectat Fortuna gubernans,turn aside, avert, Lucr. 5, 108.—
2 In partic.
a To bend (in opinion or in will), to move, persuade, prevail upon, overcome, soften, appease (cf.:
moveo, afficio): quibus rebus ita flectebar animo atque frangebar, ut, etc.,Cic. Sull. 6, 18:
sed quid te oratione flectam? ... qua re flecte te, quaeso,id. Phil. 1, 14, 35: facile Achivos flexeris, Enn. ap. Gell. 11, 4, 3 (Trag. v. 229 ed. Vahl.):
judices,Quint. 6, 1, 9:
flectere mollibus jam durum imperiis,Hor. C. 4, 1, 6:
precibus si flecteris ullis,Verg. A. 2, 689:
flectere si nequeo Superos, Acheronta movebo,id. ib. 7, 312; cf.:
nisi dii immortales suo numine prope fata ipsa flexissent,Cic. Cat. 3, 8, 19:
desine fata deum flecti sperare precando,Verg. A. 6, 376:
animos commutare atque omni ratione flectere,Cic. de Or. 2, 52 fin.:
ingenium alicujus aversum,Sall. J. 102, 3:
si quem a proposito spes mollitiave animi flexisset,divert, dissuade, Liv. 28, 22, 11: dictis nostris sententia flexa est, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 257 Müll. (Ann. v. 264 ed. Vahl.):
si flectitur ira deorum,Ov. M. 1, 378: cf. id. Tr. 3, 5, 41:
hortaturque simul flectitque labores,soothes, Stat. S. 5, 1, 119:
ad deditionem primos,Liv. 5, 43, 1.—Mid.:
plurimum valet miseratio, quae judicem flecti non tantum cogit, sed, etc.,to let himself be moved, Quint. 6, 1, 23:
flexi in misericordiam,Amm. 12, 27.—
b (Acc. to I. A. 2.) To turn aside from, to avoid a thing:
ut eam (viam) flectas, te rogo,Cic. Att. 11, 18, 2 (but B. and K. ex conj. C. F. Hermann read ira, v. a. sup.); cf.:
flexit viam,Liv. 1, 60, 1:
dolo a se flexos imputavit civilis,Tac. H. 5, 24.—
c To refer to or apply to any one:
versus qui in Tiberium flecterentur,Tac. A. 6, 29:
Augustus quaedam ex horrida illa antiquitate ad praesentem usum flexisset,id. ib. 4, 16.—
d In grammar.
(a) To form a word from another language:
verba derivare, flectere, conjungere,Quint. 8, 3, 36:
hoc vocabulum (pollex) de Graeco flexum est,Gell. 4, 3 fin. —
(b) To decline, conjugate, inflect, Varr. L. L. 10, 2, 29 al.—
(g) Flectere syllabam, to mark with the circumflex accent, and hence, to lengthen, Quint. 1, 5, 23 Spald. and Zumpt.
II Neutr., to turn, go, or march in any direction (post-Aug.).
A Lit.:
cum procul hos laevo flectentes limite cernunt,Verg. A. 9, 372:
ex Gabino in Tusculanos flexere colles,Liv. 3, 8, 6;
Hasdrubal ad Oceanum flectit,id. 28, 16, 3:
inde Vitellius Cremonam flexit,Tac. H. 2, 70:
in Capitolium,Suet. Tib. 20.—
B Trop., of thought or speech, to turn in any direction:
ad providentiam sapientiamque,Tac. A. 13, 3:
in ambitionem,id. ib. 4, 37:
a veneratione Augusti orsus flexit ad victorias Tiberii,id. ib. 1, 34.—Hence, flexus, a, um, P. a.
A Lit., bent, winding:
error,Ov. M. 8, 160:
zodiacus circa Cancrum Capricornumque flexior,Mart. Cap. 8, § 878.—In neutr. plur. subst.: collium flexa, Minuc. Fel. Octav. 17.—
B Trop., of tones, lengthened:
infinito magis illa flexa et circumducta sunt,Quint. 11, 3, 172.