Flecto, flectis, flexi, flexum, flectere. To bow: to bend: to lead: to turne.Flecte in gytum, Ouid.Tnine counde.Oculorum aciem flectere, Vide ACIES.Flectere currum de foro in Cæpitolium.Cicer.To turne.Flectere cursum ad aliquem.Liu.To beud or turne his way towarde one.Gyro breuiore flecti. Sen. Inde Capuam flectit iter. Liuius. He tourned from thence to Capua.Flectere iuuencum.Virg.Flectere Leucaten. Cice. To take his waye straight to Leu. cates.Membra contorquet, & flectit quò vult omne animal.Cic.Promontoria flectere.Cic.In sailing to fetch a compasse about promontories or hilles lying out into the sea.Ratem flectere.Ouid. Viam. Cic. Flectere, per translationem: vt, Flectere animum.Terent.To turne the mind fram a purpose: also, to bend his mind to harken to, or to consider a thing.Flectere animum vero.Liu.To turne from.Oblata casu flectere ad consilium.Liui.To take present occasion vpon things offered by chaunce vpon a sodaine.In ambitionem flexisse arguebatur.Tacit.Commutare & flectere animos.Cic.Flecti animo atque frangi. Cice. Fata flectere.Cic.Flectere & dirigere aduersus alios iudicium suum. Brutus ad Ciceronem. Genu flectere.To make curtesie, or bowe the knee.Mentes flectore.Cic.To turne.Minas alicuius flectere.Val. Flac.Naturam suam huc & illuc torquere & flectere. Ci. Flectere aliquem oratione. Ci. With his words to persuade to turne a man to his opinion.Puella flectitur assiduis minis. Propert. Sensus alicuius slectere.Val. Flac.Flecterevocabulum de Græco. Gell. To deriue.
Lewis and Short: Latin dictionary
flecto, xi, xum, 3, v. a. and n. [root in Gr. folko/s, bandy-legged; fa/lkhs, the bent rib of a ship; L. falx; falco, so called from the curve of its claws or beak; cf. Germ. Falke; Engl. falcon]. 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. (a).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. —(b).To decline, conjugate, inflect, Varr. L. L. 10, 2, 29 al.—(g). 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.