I.lying off the high-road; out of the way, devious (class.; for syn. cf.: avius, invius).
I. Lit.: “iter,” a by-way, Cic. Att. 4, 3, 4; 14, 10, 1 (cf. avius); Suet. Galb. 20: “oppidum,” Cic. Pis. 36 fin.: “saltus,” Liv. 41, 19: “calles,” id. 22, 14: “rura,” Ov. M. 1, 676.—Subst.: dēvia , ōrum, n., lonely, unfrequented places: “per aspera ac devia,” Suet. Tib. 60: “in devia terrarum,” Luc. 4, 161.—
B. Transf., of living beings dwelling in out-of-the-way places, retired, sequestered: “Anagnini, cum essent devii, etc.,” Cic. Phil. 2, 41, 106: “gens,” Liv. 34, 20: “montani,” id. 34, 16: “civitas,” Suet. Vesp. 4: mihi devio nemus Mirari libet, wandering about in unfrequented places: Hor. Od. 3, 25, 12: “uxores (i. e. capellae),” id. ib. 1, 17, 6: “scortum,” i. e. retired, shy, id. ib. 2, 11, 21: avis (i. e. the great owl, which dwells in lonely places), Ov. H. 2, 118: “equus,” leaping aside, Stat. Th. 9, 804.—
2. Poet., inaccessible: “limina,” Prop. 4 (5), 9, 27.—
II. Trop., inconstant, erroneous, inconsistent, foolish: “quid potest esse tam flexibile, tam devium, quam animus ejus, qui, etc.,” Cic. Lael. 25, 93: vita, id. Fragm. ap. Lact. 6, 24: “via,” Lact. 3, 11, 4; id. 4, 30, 3: “nihil quasi devium loqui,” i. e. out of the way, impertinent, Plin. Ep. 5, 6, 44: noster Plato nihil ab hac secta vel paululum devius, Ap. Flor. 2, p. 352, 23: “homo in omnibus consiliis praeceps et devius,” Cic. Phil. 5, 13, 37; Ov. Tr. 3, 7, 30.—Poet. with gen.: “devius aequi,” Sil. 1, 57; cf.: “pectora recti,” id. 8, 318: devius promissi es, Mart. Cap. poet. 3 init.—Adv. does not occur.