I.a knot (cf. nexus).
I. Lit.: “nodus vinculumque,” Cic. Univ. 4: necte tribus nodis ternos, Amarylli, colores, Verg. E. 8, 77: “Cacum Corripit in nodum complexus,” clasping him as in a knot, id. A. 8, 260: “nodos manu diducere,” Ov. M. 2, 560: “nodus Herculis or Herculaneus,” a knot difficult to untie, of which Hercules was held to be the inventor, Plin. 28, 6, 17, § 63: “unus tibi nodus, sed Herculaneus, restat,” Sen. Ep. 87, 38: “tamquam nodus Gordius difficillimus,” Amm. 14, 11, 1: cingulum (novae nuptae) Herculaneo nodo vinctum vir solvit ominis gratia, Paul. ex Fest. s. v. cingulo, p. 63 Müll.—
B. Transf.
1. A girdle (poet.): “nodoque sinus collecta fluentes,” Verg. A. 1, 320; Mart. 6, 13, 5.— “Hence, astronom.: nodus anni,” the circle of the equator, Lucr. 5, 688.—
2. A mode of dressing the hair, a knot, club: “Rheni nodos,” the hair of the Germans gathered into a club, Mart. 5, 37, 8; cf.: “insigne gentis obliquare crinem nodoque substringere,” Tac. G. 38.—
3. Plur.: “nodi,” a knotted fishing-net, Manil. 5, 664.—
4. A knot, knob, node on a joint of an animal's body: “crura sine nodis,” Caes. B. G. 6, 27: “cervix articulorum nodis jungitur,” Plin. 11, 37, 67, § 177; 11, 37, 88, § 217: “dirae nodus hyaenae,” a backbone, dorsal vertebra, Luc. 6, 672.— “Hence, nodi articulorum,” a swelling, tumor on the joints, Plin. 24, 5, 13, § 21; 30, 12, 36, § 110.—
5. A knot, knob, fold, etc.
(α).
In wood or the branches of plants: “baculum sine nodo aduncum tenens,” Liv. 1, 18, 7; Sen. Ben. 7, 9: “stipes gravidus nodis,” Verg. A. 7, 507: “telum solidum nodis,” id. ib. 11, 553: “gracilitas harundinis, distincta nodis,” Plin. 16, 36, 64, § 158; Col. Arb. 3.—Hence, the knotty club of Hercules, Sen. Herc. Oet. 1661.—
(γ).
Prov.: nodum in scirpo quaerere, to look for knots in a bulrush (which contains none), i. e. to find difficulties where there are none, Enn. ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 330 Müll. (Sat. v. 46 Vahl.): “in scirpo nodum quaeris,” Plaut. Men. 2, 1, 22; Ter. And. 5, 4, 38.—
6. A knot, hard part of a thing; “so of metals,” Plin. 34, 13, 37, § 136; “of precious stones,” id. 37, 10, 55, § 150.—
7. A star in the constellation Pisces, Cic. Arat. 14; Caes. Germ. Arat. 243.—
8. In astron.: “nodi,” the four points in the heavens where the seasons begin, the nodes, Manil. 3, 618; cf. id. 2, 430.—
II. Trop.
A. In gen., a band, bond: “his igitur singulis versibus quasi nodi apparent continuationis,” Cic. Or. 66, 222: “velut laxioribus nodis resolvemus,” Quint. 9, 4, 127: “amabilissimum nodum amicitiae tollere,” Cic. Lael. 14, 51.—
B. In partic.
1. A bond, obligation (poet.): “exsolvere animum nodis religionum,” Lucr. 4, 7: “imponere nodos, i. e. jusjurandum,” Ov. H. 20, 39 Ruhnk.—
2. A knotty point, difficulty, impediment.—Absol.: “dum hic nodus expediatur non putet senatus nos oportere decedere,” Cic. Att. 5, 21, 3: incideramus in difficilem nodum, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 11, 1.—With gen.: “Abantem interimit, pugnae nodumque moramque,” Verg. A. 10, 428: “cum scopulus et nodus et mora publicae securitatis superesset Antonius,” Flor. 4, 9, 1: “qui juris nodos et legum aenigmata solvat (an allusion to the Gordian knot),” Juv. 8, 50 (hence, Cicuta nodosus; v. nodosus).— Esp.: nodus linguae, the bond or tie of the tongue: “nodum linguae rumpere,” Gell. 5, 9, 2: “nodos linguae solvere,” Just. 13, 7, 6.
