adjectivethird-declension one-termination adjective
mendāx1
mendāx (genitive mendācis, comparative mendācior, superlative mendācissimus, adverb mendāciter)
Classical[ˈmɛn.daːks]Ecclesiastical[ˈmɛn.daks]
Meaning
- one terminationmendacious (lying, untruthful, dishonest)
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quī mentītur, falsusmendāx -ācis — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 8
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | mendāx | mendāx | mendāx |
| genitive | mendācis | mendācis | mendācis |
| dative | mendācī | mendācī | mendācī |
| accusative | mendācem | mendācem | mendāx |
| ablative | mendācī mendāce | mendācī mendāce | mendācī mendāce |
| vocative | mendāx | mendāx | mendāx |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | mendācēs | mendācēs | mendācia |
| genitive | mendācium | mendācium | mendācium |
| dative | mendācibus | mendācibus | mendācibus |
| accusative | mendācīs mendācēs | mendācīs mendācēs | mendācia |
| ablative | mendācibus | mendācibus | mendācibus |
| vocative | mendācēs | mendācēs | mendācia |
mendax, dācis, adj. mentior,
I. given to lying, mendacious; subst., a liar.
I. Lit.:
mendacem esse adversus aliquem, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 188: cum mendaci homini, ne verum quidem dicenti, credere soleamus, Cic. Div. 2, 71, 146: Carthaginienses fraudulenti et mendaces, id. Agr. 2, 35, 95: aretalogus, Juv. 15, 16.—As subst.: mendax, dācis, m., a liar.—Prov.: mendacem memorem esse oportet, a liar should have a good memory, Quint. 4, 2, 91.— Comp.: Parthis mendacior, Hor. Ep 2, 1, 112.—Sup.: mendacissimus, the greatest liar, Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 48.—With gen.: si hujus rei me mendacem esse inveneris, Plaut. As. 5, 2, 4.—With dat.: saepe fui mendax pro te mihi, Ov. H. 2, 11.—With in and acc.: in parentem, Hor. C. 3, 11, 35; for which adversum, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 188.— With in and abl.: in tenui farragine, Pers. 5, 77.—II. Transf., of inanim, and abstr. things, lying, false, deceptive; feigned, fictitious, counterfeit, not real, etc. (mostly poet.):
mendacia visa, Cic. Div. 2, 62, 127: speculum, Ov. Tr. 3, 7, 38: fundus, that does not yield the expected fruits, Hor. C. 3, 1, 30: damnum, Ov. A. A. 1, 431: infamia, Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 39: os, Tib. 3, 6, 35: pennae, Ov. M. 10, 159: quidquid Graecia mendax audet in historia, Juv. 10, 174.—Hence, adv.: mendācĭter, falsely, mendaciously (post-class.): praedicare, Sol. 1, 87.— Sup.: mendacissime dicere, Aug. Mor. Eccl. 1, 17.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
mendāx dācis, adj. with comp.
1 MAN-, of men, given to lying, false, mendacious : homo: amicus, pretended , H.: aretalogus, Iu.: Parthis mendacior, H.: Saepe fui mendax pro te mihi, O.: in parentem, H.: quidquid Graecia mendax Audet in historiā, Iu.—As subst m., a liar : quid interest inter periurum et mendacem?—Of things, false, deceptive, feigned, fictitious, counterfeit, not real : visa: fundus, disappointing , H.: infamia, slander , H.: somnus, Tb.: pennae, O.
Origins
Derived from Proto-Indo-European *mend- (“to fault”), whence also mendum and menda, plus -āx. Original meaning was "faulty" and was shifted towards "deceitful" under the influence of mentior (“to lie”).
Descendants
- Englishmendacious
- Italianmendace
- Portuguesemendace
- Portuguesemendaz
- Spanishmendaz