1. mollis — de Vaan
mollis 'soft, gentle' [adj. i) (PL+) Derivatives: mollitia 'softness, luxury' (PL+), molliculus 'soft, tender' (PL+), — [de Vaan, s.v. mollis, p. 400]
The corpus record — Latin
mollis
mollis
soft, gentle
Generated live from the audited Latin corpus — every figure on this page is a database query, not prose from memory.
Where it lives
- Appendix Vergiliana 5 · 45.62/10k
- Dirae, Appendix Vergiliana 2 · 30.82/10k
- Lydia, Appendix Vergiliana 1 · 18.76/10k
- Fescinnina de nuptiis Honorii Augusti 1 · 18.25/10k
- Eclogues 8 · 17.63/10k
- Medicamina faciei femineae 1 · 16.31/10k
- Cento Nuptialis 2 · 14.66/10k
- Epithalamium de nuptiis Honorii Augusti 3 · 13.72/10k
- Georgicon 18 · 12.72/10k
- Epistularum 1 · 12.5/10k
- Elegiae 28 · 11.06/10k
- Carmina 14 · 10.88/10k
Densest 12 of 160 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.
What it meant
2. mollis — Lewis & Short
mollis, e, adj.Gr. malako/s, a)malo/s, mw=lus; cf. blhxro/s, perh. Lat. mulier (mollior),
I easily movable, pliant, flexible, supple; soft, tender, delicate, gentle, mild, pleasant (class.; syn.: tener, facilis, flexibilis, lentus).
I Lit.:
mollis juncus,Verg. E. 2, 72:
comam mollis ... hyacinthi,id. G. 4, 137:
aurum,flexible, id. A. 10, 818:
tiliae,Ov. M. 10, 92:
crura,Verg. G. 3, 76:
colla,id. A. 11, 622:
bracchia,Ov. A. A. 1, 595:
cervix,id. F. 4, 185:
commissurae,Cic. N. D. 2, 60:
molle litus,of soft sand, Caes. B. G. 5, 9:
harena,Ov. M. 2, 577:
aqua,id. A. A. 1, 476:
fraga,id. M. 13, 816:
castaneae,Verg. E. 1, 82:
mollissima vina ( = mitissima, lenissima),id. G. 1, 341; cf.:
molli mero,Hor. C. 1, 7, 19; and:
molle Calenum,Juv. 1, 69:
alvus,relaxed, open bowels, Cels. 3, 12:
cibus,mild, not sharp, id. 4, 4, 4:
ovum,soft, id. 4, 4, 5:
prata,Verg. G. 2, 384:
gramen,Ov. F. 6, 328:
humus,id. A. A. 3, 688:
lana,id. F. 2, 742:
torus,id. Am. 2, 4, 14:
arcus,slack, unbent, unstrung, id. H. 4, 92:
feretrum,made soft by a layer of leaves, Verg. A. 11, 64:
mollissima cera,Cic. de Or. 3, 45, 177:
mollia panis,the soft part of bread, the crumb, id. 13, 12, 26, § 82:
molles genae,soft, delicate, Ov. H. 10, 44:
capilli,id. P. 3, 3, 17:
manus,id. Am. 1, 4, 24:
latus,id. M. 14, 710:
molles Zephyri,soft, gentle, id. A. A. 3, 728; so,
hiems,Stat. S. 3, 5, 83:
aestas,Verg. G. 1, 312:
caelum,Flor. 1, 16, 3; 4, 12, 27:
Euphrates mollior undis,gentler, calmer, Verg. A. 8, 726:
aditus,easy, Sil. 4, 491; so,
iter,Quint. 4, 2, 46:
via,id. 1, 6, 22:
fastigium,gentle, not steep, Caes. B. C. 2, 10:
clivus,Verg. E. 9, 8:
modicis et mollibus clivis,Curt. 8, 39, 6:
jugum montis,Tac. G. 1:
trames,Ov. F. 3, 13.—Prov.: molli bracchio objurgare aliquem, with a gentle arm, i. e. in a forbearing manner, Cic. Att. 2, 1, 6:
in molli carne vermes nascuntur,it is the soft flesh that breeds the worms, Petr. 57.— Subst.: mollia, ĭum, n., a kind of fishes, mollusks, Plin. 11, 51, 112, § 267.—
II Trop.
A Tender, delicate, susceptible:
mollibus annis,in tender youth, Ov. H. 1, 111:
os molle,easily blushing, id. Tr. 4, 3, 70:
mollissima corda,Juv. 15, 131:
mollissimae aures,modest, Plin. Pan. 68.—
2 In a bad sense, soft, effeminate, unmanly, weak (syn. effeminatus):
philosophus tam mollis, tam languidus, tam enervatus,Cic. de Or. 1, 52, 226:
Sabaei,Verg. G. 1, 57:
viri molles, i. e. pathici,Liv. 33, 28; Sen. Ep. 87:
disciplina,effeminate, Cic. Fin. 1, 11, 37:
delicatior ... molliorque ratio,id. ib. 5, 5, 12:
vita,Ov. Tr. 5, 3, 9: desine mollium querellarum, Hor. C. 2, 9, 17:
mollis teneraque vox,Quint. 11, 3, 23:
educatio,id. 1, 2, 6:
actio,id. 11, 3, 128:
Gallorum mens est mollis ac minime resistens ad calamitates perferendas,Caes. B. G. 3, 19:
sententiae,Cic. Cat. 1, 12, 30:
si taedio laboris longaeque viae, ut est mollis ad talia gens (Gallorum), dilaberentur,Liv. 22, 2, 4:
Romanos molliores facere ad paciscendum,id. 42, 62, 6; cf.:
sunt qui in rebus contrariis parum sibi constent, voluptatem severissime contemnant, in dolore sint molliores, etc.,Cic. Off. 1, 21, 71:
molles in aure fenestrae,Juv. 1, 104.—
B Soft, pleasant, mild, easy:
orationem mollem teneramque reddidit,soft, pleasant, Cic. Brut. 9, 38:
mollis et jucunda senectus,id. Sen. 1, 2:
ita eum placidum mollemque reddidi, ut, etc.,calm and gentle, id. Caecil. 10, 28:
verba,Hor. Epod. 5, 83:
mollia jussa,mild, easy, Verg. G. 3, 41:
vincuntur molli pectora dura prece,soft, tender, touching, Tib. 3, 4, 76:
sic accensum sed molliora referre jussum dimittit,to return a gentler answer, Tac. H. 4, 32 fin.:
saepius molliora respondens,id. A. 12, 46: mollis versus, an elegiac or amatory poem, Ov. Tr. 2, 307; Prop. 1, 7, 19 (opp. durus versus, a heroic poem, id. 2, 1, 41):
ridere mollia,to smile gently, Ov. A. A. 3, 513:
cuncta tamen ad imperatorem in mollius relata,in a milder, more favorable light, Tac. A. 14, 39:
pilenta,having a gentle motion, Verg. A. 8, 666; id. G. 2, 389:
mollissima fandi tempora,id. A. 4, 293:
hora mollior,more favorable, Ov. P. 3, 3, 84:
signa,Cic. Brut. 18, 70:
duriora Callon, jam minus rigida Calamis, molliora adhuc supra dictis Myron fecit,more agreeable, Quint. 12, 10, 7:
mollis animus et ad accipiendam et ad deponendam offensionem,Cic. Att. 1, 17, 2:
in inimicitiis auricula infima mollior,id. Q. Fr. 2, 13 (15), 4.—Subst.: molle, is, n., softness, smoothness:
molle atque facetum Vergilio adnuerunt Camenae,Hor. S. 1, 10, 45.—
C Weak, untrustworthy:
nihil est tam molle, tam tenerum, tam aut fragile aut flexibile quam voluntas erga nos civium,Cic. Mil. 16, 42.—Hence, adv.: mollĭter.
1 Lit., softly, gently, agreeably (class.):
molliter sustine me,Plaut. Ps. 5, 2, 7:
aves nidos mollissime substernunt,Cic. N. D. 2, 52, 129:
recubans,id. de Or. 3, 17, 63:
ossa cubent,Ov. Tr. 3, 3, 76:
excudent alii spirantia mollius aera,more easily, agreeably, Verg. A. 6, 847:
cura molliter semina conlocandi,Plin. 15, 10, 9, § 35:
colles ad orientem molliter devexi,gently, gradually, Col. 1, 2, 3 sq.—
2 Trop.:
quod ferendum est molliter sapienti,calmly, patiently, Cic. Sen. 2, 5:
abnuere,Liv. 30, 3:
delicate et molliter vivere,voluptuously, Cic. Off. 1, 30, 106:
aegritudinem pati,sensitively, weakly, Sall. J. 82, 2:
ne quid per metum, mollius consuleretur,too compliantly, Liv. 30, 7, 3:
interpretari mollius aliquid,rather mildly, favorably, Tac. H. 2, 96.
3. mollis — Walde–Hofmann
mollis, -e „weich, locker, geschmeidig, biegsam; mild, sanft, nachgiebig; weichlich, schwach“ (seit Enn. [prae- seit Plin.], rom., ebenso mollicellus ,weichlich sext Catull [vgl. mollieulus ds. seit Plaut.], mollitia [seit Plt., -i&s seit Ter.] f. , Biegsamkeit, Weichheit", *mollica , Brotkrume* [vgl. mollia pänis ds. Plin. = và é6maAMd, Blümner "Technol I? 745], smollio, -ivt, -itum, -ire „mache biegsam, mildere, … — [Walde–Hofmann, s.v. mollis, p. 1009]
In the wild
- Mollem Martial, Epigrammata 1.104.19
- mollibus Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.314
- molle Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae 2.P1
- mollius Florus, Epitome Rerum Romanorum 1.11.16.3
- mollia Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.816
- mollem Statius, Thebais 6.219
6 of 1,037 attestations shown.
Where it came from
- Treated in de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Brill 2008) s.v. mollis (scan p. 400; entry #1076).
- Treated in Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine s.v. mollis (scan p. 434; entry #7001).
- Treated in Walde-Hofmann, Lateinisches etymologisches Worterbuch s.v. mollis (scan pp. 1009-1013; entry #1780). Root candidates: *mido-, *meldo-, *mjdo-.
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Latin text and lemmatization derived from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit), CC BY-SA 4.0. Lewis & Short (public domain) via Perseus. This derived data is shared under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 license.