I. Act., to bend, bow, curve, turn, turn round (freq. and class.; syn.: plecto, plico, curvo).
A. Lit.
1. In gen.: “animal omne membra quocumque vult, flectit, contorquet, porrigit, contrahit,” Cic. Div. 1, 53, 120: “ora retro,” Ov. M. 3, 188: “vultus ad illum,” id. ib. 4, 265; “10, 236: lumina a gurgite in nullam partem,” id. ib. 8, 367: “geminas acies huc,” to turn, direct, Verg. A. 6, 789; cf. “oculos,” id. ib. 8, 698: “equos brevi moderari ac flectere,” Caes. B. G. 4, 33 fin.: “equum,” Hor. C. 3, 7, 25: “currum de foro in Capitolium,” Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 30, § 77: “plaustrum,” Ov. M. 10, 447: navem, Auct. B. Alex. 64 fin.: “habenas,” Ov. M. 2, 169: “cursus in orbem,” id. ib. 6, 225; cf.: “cursus in laevum,” id. Tr. 1, 10, 17: “iter ad Privernum,” Liv. 8, 19, 13 Drak. N. cr.: “iter Demetriadem,” id. 35, 31, 3: “tu (Bacche) flectis amnes, tu mare barbarum,” Hor. C. 2, 19, 17: “arcus,” to bend, Ov. M. 4, 303; cf.: “flexos incurvant viribus arcus,” Verg. A. 5, 500: “flexum genu,” Ov. M. 4, 340: “artus,” Liv. 21, 58, 9: “flexi crines,” curled, Mart. 3, 63, 3; 10, 65, 6; Juv. 6, 493: “flexum mare,” i.e. a bay, Tac. A. 14, 4: “flexi fractique motus,” contorted, Cic. Fin. 5, 12, 35: “hinc (silva) se flectit sinistrorsus,” Caes. B. G. 6, 25, 3.—Mid.: quasi amnis celeris rapit, sed tamen inflexu flectitur, Naev. ap. Non. 191, 34 (Trag. Rel. v. 42 Rib.): “(milvus) flectitur in gyrum,” wheels, Ov. M. 2, 718: “modo flector in anguem,” I bend, wind myself into a snake, id. ib. 8, 883: “sol ab ea (Cancri) meta incipit flecti,” Plin. 18, 28, 68, § 264: Euphrates ad meridiem flectitur, id. 6, 26, 30, § 125.—
2. In partic., naut. t. t., to go round or double a promontory: “cum in flectendis promontoriis ventorum mutationes maximas saepe sentiant,” Cic. Div. 2, 45, 94: “Leucaten flectere molestum videbatur,” id. Att. 5, 9, 1.—
B. Trop.
1. In gen., to bend, turn, direct: “ducere multimodis voces et flectere cantus,” Lucr. 5, 1406: “vocem,” Ov. Am. 2, 4, 25: “qui teneros et rudes cum acceperunt, inficiunt et flectunt, ut volunt,” Cic. Leg. 1, 17, 47; cf.: “imbecillitatem animorum torquere et flectere,” id. ib. 1, 10, 29: “suam naturam huc et illuc torquere ac flectere,” id. Cael. 6, 13: “vitam flectere fingereque,” id. Sull. 28, 79: “mentes suas ad nostrum imperium nomenque,” id. Balb. 17, 39: “aliquem a proposito,” Liv. 28, 22, 11: “scribentis animum a vero,” id. 1 praef. 5: “animus ab aliqua opinione flectendus,” Quint. 4, 2, 80: “animos ad publica carmina,” Ov. Tr. 5, 1, 23: quo vobis mentes ... dementes sese flexere viaï? Enn. ap. Cic. de Sen. 6, 16 (Ann. v. 209 ed. Vahl.): “est viri et ducis oblata casu flectere ad consilium,” Liv. 28, 44, 8: “juvenis cereus in vitium flecti,” Hor. A. P. 163: “quod procul a nobis flectat Fortuna gubernans,” turn aside, avert, Lucr. 5, 108.—
2. In partic.
a. To bend (in opinion or in will), to move, persuade, prevail upon, overcome, soften, appease (cf.: “moveo, afficio): quibus rebus ita flectebar animo atque frangebar, ut, etc.,” Cic. Sull. 6, 18: “sed quid te oratione flectam? ... qua re flecte te, quaeso,” id. Phil. 1, 14, 35: facile Achivos flexeris, Enn. ap. Gell. 11, 4, 3 (Trag. v. 229 ed. Vahl.): “judices,” Quint. 6, 1, 9: “flectere mollibus jam durum imperiis,” Hor. C. 4, 1, 6: “precibus si flecteris ullis,” Verg. A. 2, 689: “flectere si nequeo Superos, Acheronta movebo,” id. ib. 7, 312; cf.: “nisi dii immortales suo numine prope fata ipsa flexissent,” Cic. Cat. 3, 8, 19: “desine fata deum flecti sperare precando,” Verg. A. 6, 376: “animos commutare atque omni ratione flectere,” Cic. de Or. 2, 52 fin.: “ingenium alicujus aversum,” Sall. J. 102, 3: “si quem a proposito spes mollitiave animi flexisset,” divert, dissuade, Liv. 28, 22, 11: dictis nostris sententia flexa est, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 257 Müll. (Ann. v. 264 ed. Vahl.): “si flectitur ira deorum,” Ov. M. 1, 378: cf. id. Tr. 3, 5, 41: “hortaturque simul flectitque labores,” soothes, Stat. S. 5, 1, 119: “ad deditionem primos,” Liv. 5, 43, 1.—Mid.: “plurimum valet miseratio, quae judicem flecti non tantum cogit, sed, etc.,” to let himself be moved, Quint. 6, 1, 23: “flexi in misericordiam,” Amm. 12, 27.—
b. (Acc. to I. A. 2.) To turn aside from, to avoid a thing: “ut eam (viam) flectas, te rogo,” Cic. Att. 11, 18, 2 (but B. and K. ex conj. C. F. Hermann read ira, v. a. sup.); cf.: “flexit viam,” Liv. 1, 60, 1: “dolo a se flexos imputavit civilis,” Tac. H. 5, 24.—
c. To refer to or apply to any one: “versus qui in Tiberium flecterentur,” Tac. A. 6, 29: “Augustus quaedam ex horrida illa antiquitate ad praesentem usum flexisset,” id. ib. 4, 16.—
d. In grammar.
(α).
To form a word from another language: “verba derivare, flectere, conjungere,” Quint. 8, 3, 36: “hoc vocabulum (pollex) de Graeco flexum est,” Gell. 4, 3 fin. —
(β).
To decline, conjugate, inflect, Varr. L. L. 10, 2, 29 al.—
(γ).
Flectere syllabam, to mark with the circumflex accent, and hence, to lengthen, Quint. 1, 5, 23 Spald. and Zumpt.
II. Neutr., to turn, go, or march in any direction (post-Aug.).
A. Lit.: “cum procul hos laevo flectentes limite cernunt,” Verg. A. 9, 372: “ex Gabino in Tusculanos flexere colles,” Liv. 3, 8, 6; “Hasdrubal ad Oceanum flectit,” id. 28, 16, 3: “inde Vitellius Cremonam flexit,” Tac. H. 2, 70: “in Capitolium,” Suet. Tib. 20.—
B. Trop., of thought or speech, to turn in any direction: “ad providentiam sapientiamque,” Tac. A. 13, 3: “in ambitionem,” id. ib. 4, 37: “a veneratione Augusti orsus flexit ad victorias Tiberii,” id. ib. 1, 34.—Hence, flexus , a, um, P. a.
A. Lit., bent, winding: “error,” Ov. M. 8, 160: “zodiacus circa Cancrum Capricornumque flexior,” Mart. Cap. 8, § 878.—In neutr. plur. subst.: collium flexa, Minuc. Fel. Octav. 17.—
B. Trop., of tones, lengthened: “infinito magis illa flexa et circumducta sunt,” Quint. 11, 3, 172.
