I.apt to flee, flying swiftly, swift, fleet (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose; cf. fugitivus).
I. Lit.: “fugaces Lyncas et cervos cohibentis arcu,” Hor. C. 4, 6, 33; so, “caprea,” Verg. A. 10, 724: “ferae,” id. ib. 9, 591: “cervi,” id. G. 3, 539: “mors et fugacem persequitur virum,” Hor. C. 3, 2, 14; cf.: “comes atra (cura) premit sequiturque fugacem,” id. S. 2, 7, 115: “Pholoe,” who flees from wooers, coy, id. C. 2, 5, 17: “lympha,” id. ib. 2, 3, 12.—Comp.: “ventis, volucrique fugacior aurā,” Ov. M. 13, 807.—Sup.: “ignavissimus et fugacissimus hostis,” Liv. 5, 28, 8.—As a term of vituperation, of a slave: “lurco, edax, furax, fugax,” runaway, Plaut. Pers. 3, 3, 16.—
II. Trop.
A. Fleeting, transitory: haec omnia quae habent speciem gloriae, contemne: brevia, fugacia, caduca existima; * Cic. Fam. 10, 12, 5: “fugaces Labuntur anni,” Hor. C. 2, 14, 1: blanditiae, Plin. poët. Ep. 7, 4, 7.—Comp.: “non aliud pomum fugacius,” that sooner spoils, Plin. 15, 12, 11, § 40.—Sup.: “bona,” Sen. Ep. 74 med.—
B. With gen., fleeing, shunning, avoiding a thing: “sollicitaeque fugax ambitionis eram,” Ov. Tr. 4, 10, 38: “fugax rerum,” id. ib. 3, 2, 9: “fugacissimus gloriae,” Sen. Ben. 4, 32.—Hence, adv.: fŭgācĭ-ter , in fleeing; only comp.: “utrum a se audacius an fugacius ab hostibus geratur bellum,” whether in prosecuting the war his own boldness or the enemy's disposition to flee was the greater, Liv. 28, 8, 3.
