adjectivethird-declension two-termination adjective
sēgnis
sēgnis (neuter sēgne, comparative sēgnior, superlative sēgnissimus, adverb sēgniter)
Classical[ˈseːŋ.nɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɛɲ.ɲis]
Meaning
- two terminationslow, tardy, torpid, inactive, unenergetic, lazy
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
piger, lentussēgnis -e — in Epistulae, ch. 17
piger, sine studiōsēgnis -e — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 7
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | sēgnis | sēgnis | sēgne |
| genitive | sēgnis | sēgnis | sēgnis |
| dative | sēgnī | sēgnī | sēgnī |
| accusative | sēgnem | sēgnem | sēgne |
| ablative | sēgnī | sēgnī | sēgnī |
| vocative | sēgnis | sēgnis | sēgne |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | sēgnēs | sēgnēs | sēgnia |
| genitive | sēgnium | sēgnium | sēgnium |
| dative | sēgnibus | sēgnibus | sēgnibus |
| accusative | sēgnīs sēgnēs | sēgnīs sēgnēs | sēgnia |
| ablative | sēgnibus | sēgnibus | sēgnibus |
| vocative | sēgnēs | sēgnēs | sēgnia |
segnis, e, adj. commonly referred to sequor, that follows after, creeps after,
I. slow, tardy, slack, dilatory, lingering, sluggish, inactive, unenergetic, lazy (in posit. not freq. till after the Aug. per., esp. in the histt.; in Cic. only comp., except in a passage from Non.; in Caes. only once in comp.; syn.:
deses, ignavus, desidiosus, piger): (servi) quia tardius irent Propter onus segnes, Hor. S. 2, 3, 102; cf.: tardum et segne, Quint. 9, 4, 83: animus (opp. mobilis), Trogas ap. Plin. 11, 52, 114, § 275: puer segnis et jacens, Quint. 1, 3, 2: segnis inersque vocer, Tib. 1, 1, 58: segniores castigat atque incitat, * Caes. B. C. 1, 3; cf.: laudando promptos et castigando segnes, Tac. Agr. 21: segnes et pavidos, id. A. 16, 25: multa quae segnibus ardua videantur, id. ib. 15, 59: segnior esse, Cic. Att. 8, 11, B fin.: bonus segnior fit ubi neglegas, Sall. J. 31, 28: ne segniores viris feminas habere viderentur, Just. 2, 4, 27: equus aut morbo gravis aut segnior annis, Verg. G. 3, 95 et saep.: in quo tua me provocavit oratio, mea consecuta est segnis (segnius?), Cic. ap. Non. 33, 23: obsidio, Liv. 5, 46; 10, 10: bellum, id. 10, 12: pugna, id. 10, 36: navigatio, id. 30, 10: militia, id. 26, 21: mora, id. 25, 8 fin.; 34, 9; Ov. M. 3, 563: voluptas, id. R. Am. 404: otium, Tac. A. 14, 39 fin.; id. H. 4, 70: ingenium, id. A. 12, 26: imperium, Liv. 25, 14: pes (in the race), Hor. C. 3, 12, 9: Arar, slowly-flowing, sluggish, Plin. 3, 4, 5, § 33; cf. aquae, Curt. 8, 9, 18: stellae (Ursa Major and Minor and Boötes), Val. Fl. 1, 484: campus, i. e. unfruitful, Verg. G. 1, 72; cf. arvum, id. ib. 1, 151; Luc. 9, 438: metus, id. 4, 700: sopor, Sen. Herc. Oet. 690: alter (terror) diutinus, sed segnior, slower, more lingering, Liv. 35, 40, 7: segnior mors (per venenum), id. 40, 4 fin.— Sup., App. Mag. p. 310, 21.—With a neg.: non segnior discordia, Liv. 2, 43; cf.: nec Sagunti oppugnatio segnior erat, id. 21, 12: haud illo segnior ibat Aeneas, Verg. A. 4, 149; 7, 383; 8, 414.—(b). Ad aliquid, less freq. in aliquā re, in aliquam rem:
segniores posthac ad imperandum ceteri sint, Cic. Font. 7, 17 (3, 7); so in comp.: ad respondendum, id. Fin. 1, 10, 34: ad persequendum, Nep. Thras. 2, 2: ad laetitiam, Ov. P. 3, 4, 50; 4, 8, 75: ad credendum, Liv. 24, 13 fin.: ad alia facta, id. 44, 12: gnarus gentem segnem ad pericula, Tac. A. 14, 23: senatu segniore in exsequendis conatibus, Suet. Claud. 10: non in Venerem segnes nocturnaque bella, Verg. A. 11, 736; Maxim. Eleg. 5, 50. —(g). With gen. (in Tac.):
occasionum haud segnis, Tac. A. 16, 14: laeti praedā et aliorum segnes, id. ib. 14, 33.—(d). With inf. (poet.):
segnes nodum solvere Gratiae, Hor. C. 3, 21, 22; Ov. Tr. 5, 7, 19.—Hence, adv., slowly, sluggishly, slothfully, lazily. (a). segnĭter:
segniter, otiose, neglegenter, contumaciter omnia agere, Liv. 2, 58; so id. 25, 35; 29, 19; 40, 40; Vell. 2, 69, 2; 2, 87, 1; Tac. A. 11, 26; id. H. 2, 71; Stat. S. 1, 4, 106 al.—(b). segnē:
haud segne id ipsum tempus consumpserat, Liv. 38, 22: nihil agendum segne ratus, Amm. 21, 10.—b. Comp.: segnius atque timidius pro re publicā niti, Cato ap. Charis. p. 196 P.:
segnius socordiusque oppugnare, Liv. 40, 27; 30, 21; Tac. A. 11, 15; 13, 29; id. H. 3, 40; Hor. A. P. 180 al.—Esp. freq. with the negg. non, haud, nihilo segnius (for which, in the MSS., sequius or secius is freq. interchanged), none the slower, not the less actively, earnestly, or zealously, with the same activity or earnestness, with undiminished zeal: non ideo tamen segnius precor, Plin. Ep. 3, 18, 10; so, non segnius, Plin. 28, 7, 23, § 77: haud segnius, Ov. M. 11, 534; Luc. 6, 286: nec segnius, Liv. 40, 40: neque segnius, Tac. A. 6, 13: neque eo segnius, Suet. Ner. 20: oppidani nihilo segnius bellum parare, Sall. J. 75, 10; so, nihilo segnius, Liv. 2, 47; 6, 38; 7, 18 fin.; 26, 12; 32, 22; 35, 8; Plin. Ep. 6, 20, 5; Nep. Dat. 2, 4.—* c. Sup.:
nautae torpedinis tactu segnissime torpuerunt, Cassiod. Var. 1, 35.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
sēgnis e, adj. with comp.
1 SAC-, slow, tardy, slack, dilatory, lingering, sluggish, inactive, lazy : (servi) Propter onus, H.: nos segnibus actis Quod fuit ille sumus, O.: segniores incitat, Cs.: castigando segnes, Ta.: bonus segnior fit ubi neglegas, S.: equus segnior annis, V.: tempus, L.: militia, L.: neque pugno Neque segni pede victus, H.: aquae, sluggish , Cu.: campus, i. e. unfruitful , V.: diutinus alter (terror), sed segnior, more lingering , L.: segnior mors (per venenum), L.: non segnior discordia, L.: haud illo segnior ibat Aeneas, V.: segniores posthac ad imperandum ceteri sint: ad laetitiam, O.: ad alia consilia, L.: in Venerem, V.: nodum solvere Gratiae, H.: laborum, Ta.
Origins
Uncertain. An adjective in -ni- reflecting possibly Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to coagulate, dry out”) or *seh₁k- (“to arrive”), but with semantic problems. Cognates would then include Ancient Greek ἦκα (êka, “slightly, slowly, a little”) and ἥσσων (hḗssōn, “inferior, weaker, smaller”). Kroonen adds Proto-Germanic *seukaną, *suk(k)ōną (“to be ill, sick”) and Old Irish socht (“silence”), for a Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to be slow or quiet”). Otherwise, if not related to the Ancient Greek words, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *seg- (“to stick, adhere”), with acceptable semantic shift from "sticky" to "inert". In both cases the long vowel possibly reflects an original root noun, or otherwise remains unexplained.