I.wide, loose, open; spacious, roomy; opp. adstrictus (not freq. till after the Aug. per.).
I. Lit.: laxius agmen, Sall. ap. Non. 235, 16: “casses,” Verg. G. 4, 247: “circli,” id. ib. 3, 166: “sinus,” Tib. 1, 6, 18: “toga,” id. 1, 6, 40; 2, 3, 78; cf.: “in pede calceus haeret,” wide, loose, Hor. S. 1, 3, 32: “nuces Ferre sinu laxo,” id. ib. 2, 3, 171: “qua satis laxo spatio equi permitti possent,” Liv. 10, 5; so, “spatium,” wide, roomy, Sen. Ep. 88 med.; cf.: “laxior domus,” Vell. 2, 81: “janua,” open, Ov. Am. 1, 8, 77: “compages,” Verg. A. 1, 122: “mulier,” Mart. 11, 21: “habenae,” Cic. Lael. 13 (v. under II.); Verg. A. 1, 63: “frena,” Ov. Am. 3, 4, 16; cf.: “qui jam contento, jam laxo fune laborat,” Hor. S. 2, 7, 20: “arcus,” slackened, unbent, unstrung, Verg. A. 11, 874: “laxo meditantur arcu cedere campis,” Hor. C. 3, 8, 23: “opes,” large, great, Mart. 2, 30, 4.—
II. Trop.: “laxissimas habenas habere amicitiae,” very wide, loose, Cic. Lael. 13, 45: si bellum cum eo hoste haberemus, in quo neglegentiae laxior locus esset, greater latitude or scope, Liv. 24, 8; cf.: “laxius imperium,” less strict, more indulgent, Sall. J. 64: “annona,” i. e. reduced, cheap, Liv. 2, 52: “caput,” relaxed, disordered from drinking, Pers. 3, 58: “vox,” pronounced broad, Gell. 13, 20, 12: “laxioribus verbis dicere aliquid,” prolix, diffuse, id. 16, 1, 3.—Of time: “diem statuo satis laxam,” sufficiently distant, Cic. Att. 6, 1, 16: “tempus sibi et quidem laxius postulavit,” Plin. Ep. 4, 9 med.—Hence, adv.: laxē , widely, spaciously, loosely.
1. Lit.: “vis sideris laxe grassantis,” Plin. 2, 97, 99, § 217: “distans,” id. 13, 4, 7, § 33: “aurum laxius dilatatur,” id. 33, 3, 19, § 61: “Mercurii stella laxissime vagatur,” id. 2, 16, 13, § 66: “medio suspendit vincula ponto, Et laxe fluitare sinit,” loosely, freely, Luc. 4, 450: “manus vincire,” loosely, Liv. 9, 10, 7.—
2. Trop.: “laxius proferre diem,” to put farther off, Cic. Att. 13, 14, 1; cf.: “volo laxius (sc. rem curari),” id. ib. 15, 20, 4: “de munere pastorum alii angustius, alii laxius constituere solent,” a greater number, more, Varr. R. R. 2, 10, 10: “in hostico laxius rapto suetis vivere artiores in pace res erant,” more unrestrictedly, more freely, Liv. 28, 24, 6: “Romanos remoto metu laxius licentiusque futuros,” be more relaxed in discipline, more negligent, disorderly, Sall. J. 85.
