Paucus, pauca, paucum, Parum quidam deducunt: Singulariter rarò legitur. Fewe.Pauci admodum familiares.Cic.Respondit mihi paucis verbis.Plaut.In fewe wordes.Plures & pauci, contraria. Auth. ad Heren. Ex multis paucos ad ignominiam sortiri.Cic.Ad paucos pœna, ad omnes metus peruenit.Cic.Intra paucos disertus, & dignus illa propinquitate. Quint. So eloquent as there are but fewe.
paucus, a, um (gen. plur. paucūm, Enn. ap. Gell. 12, 4, fin.—Dat. plur. fem. paucabus, Cn. Gellius ap. Charis. p. 39 P.), adj. [root pau-; Gr. pau/w, to cause to cease, pau=la, remnant, pau=ros, little; cf. paulus, pauper, parvus (pau=ros)], few, little (the sing. very rare; cf.: parvus, exiguus, rarus): verbūm Paucūm, Enn. ap. Gell. 12, 4, 4 (Ann. v. 252 Vahl.): in diebus paucis Chrysis moritur, Ter. And. 1, 1, 77: paucis diebus post mortem Africani, Cic. Lael. 1, 3; cf.: his paucis diebus,
a few days ago
, id. de Or. 1, 37, 168; id. Tusc. 5, 35, 102: causae modicae et paucae, id. de Or. 2, 32, 140: pauci admodum familiares, id. Lael. 1, 2; id. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 1; id. Fam. 2, 7, 3: paucorum hominum et mentis bene sanae (i. e. paucis hominibus familiariter utens), Hor. S. 1, 9, 44; cf. Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 19 and v. Ruhnk. ad h. l. Lycurgus ge/rontas Lacedaemone appellavit, nimis is quidem paucos, XXVIII., quos, etc., Cic. Rep. 2, 28, 50: nimium fortasse pauci viverent, Lact. Ira Dei, 20, 5.— Comp ne pauciores cum pluribus manum consererent, Sall. J. 49, 2. pauciora navigia, Auct. B. Afr.—Sup.: quam paucissimae plagae, Cels. 7, 2.—(b). In sing.: tibia tenuis simplexque foramine pauco, Hor. A. P. 203: injurias pauco aere diluere, Gell. 20, 1, 31. —II.Subst.A. pauci, ōrum, m., few, a few: ut metus ad omnes, poena ad paucos perveniret, Cic. Clu. 46, 128: pauci sciebant, id. Mur. 11, 25: calumnia paucorum, Sall. C. 30, 4: paucorum potentia, id. ib. 39, 1; 20, 7.—Sometimes pauci is used in the sense of the few, the select few (opp. multi, the many, the multitude): non paucis ... ac sapientibus esse probatum, Lucil. ap. Non. 519, 10: paucorum judicium, Cic. Or. 3, 13: eorum qui pauci nominantur, id. Lael. 6, 22: pauciores, the more distinguished (opp. plures), Plaut. Trin. 1, 1, 12.—Hence, inter paucos (paucas), in paucis, adverb., with adjj., especially, eminently, extraordinarily, etc.: nobilis pugna atque inter paucas memorata, Liv. 22, 7, 1: pugna memorabilis inter paucas, id. 23, 44, 4: situs inter paucas munitae urbis, id. 38, 15, 9: Florus, inter paucos disertus, Quint. 10, 3, 13: Hector, in paucis Alexandro carus, Curt. 4, 8, 7: regi carus in paucis, id. 6, 8, 2: in paucis digna res, Plin. 30, 1, 1, 1; 27, 7, 28, 45.—B. pauca, ōrum, n., a few words: philosophandum est paucis, nam omnino haut placet, Enn. ap. Gell. 5, 15, 9 (Trag. v. 417 Vahl.): pauca sunt, tecum quae volo, Afran. ap. Charis. p. 214 P.: audite, pueri, pauca, Afran. ap. Non. 403, 21: in pauca confer, Plaut. Poen. 5, 4, 54: paucis me misit ad eam, id. Bacch. 4, 1, 16: paucis rem attingere, id. Truc. 4, 4, 11: ausculta paucis, Ter. And. 3, 3, 4: paucis te volo, id. ib. 1, 1, 2: paucis docebo, Verg. A. 4, 116: pauca refert, id. ib. 4, 333: pauca respondere, Hor. S. 1, 6, 61: ipsi pauca velim, Juv. 5, 107: cetera quam paucissimis absolvam, Sall. J. 17, 2.