dark saying

* * *

ambĭgŭus, a, um, adj. [ambigo], going about, hither and thither.

Lit.:

per ambiguum favorem gratiam victoris spectare,

i. e. in that they show equal friendliness to both sides, Liv. 21, 52:

ambiguus Proteus,

who sometimes takes one form, sometimes another, changeable, Ov. M. 2, 9:

ambiguus fuerit, modo vir, modo femina, Scython,

id. ib. 4, 280:

Inque virum soliti vultus mutare ferinos Ambigui prosecta lupi,

they sometimes assume the form of a wolf and sometimes that of a man, id. ib. 7, 271:

promisit Ambiguam Salamina, h. l. = alteram,

a second Salamis, Hor. C. 1, 7, 29. —

Transf.

Uncertain, doubtful (syn.: dubius, incertus): ambiguum est quod in ambas agi partes animo potest. Hujusmodi apud Graecos amphibola dicuntur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 17 Müll.:

quidquid incerti mihi in animo prius aut ambiguom fuit, Nunc liquet, nunc defaecatum est,

Plaut. Ps. 2, 4, 69: etiam si dudum fuerat ambiguom hoc mihi, * Ter. Hec. 4, 4, 26:

difficile et ambiguum,

Vulg. Deut. 17, 8:

haud ambiguus rex, i. e. sine dubio rex futurus,

Liv. 40, 8.— Subst.: ambĭgŭum, i, n., doubt, uncertainty:

in ambiguo est,

Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 193:

in ambiguo relinquere,

Lucr. 4, 1133: non habui ambiguum, Brut. ap. Cic. Fam. 11, 11:

servet in ambiguo Juppiter,

Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 28:

non sane alias magis in ambiguo Britannia fuit,

Tac. Agr. 5.—Also in acc. absol. in the Gr. manner: Ambiguum Clymene precibus Phaëthontis an irā Mota magis, it being uncertain whether, etc., Ov. M. 1, 765 (so, incertum, Tac. Agr. 7:

dubium,

id. A. 1, 5).—

Of discourse, obscure, dark, ambiguous:

scriptum,

Cic. Top. 25:

verba ambigua distinximus,

id. Or. 29, 102:

oracula,

id. Div. 2, 56:

responsa,

Suet. Tib. 24:

divinatio,

Vulg. Ezech. 12, 24.— Subst.: ambĭgŭum, i, n., an obscure, dark saying:

ambiguorum complura sunt genera,

Cic. de Or. 2, 26, 111; 2, 61, 250; Auct. ad Her. 1, 6; 1, 12 al.:

voces,

Verg. A. 2, 98.—

Trop., uncertain, wavering; not to be relied on, untrustworthy. —So of moral conduct:

esse ambiguā fide,

Liv. 6, 2:

puer acris ingenii sed ambigui,

Plin. Ep. 4, 2:

femina bonis atque honestis moribus, non ambiguā pudicitiā,

Gell. 3, 16:

per ambiguas vias,

Ov. H. 10, 62:

domum timet ambiguam Tyriosque bilinguis,

Verg. A 1, 661.—Of fortune, changing, fluctuating: ambiguarum rerum sciens, Tac. A. 1, 64.

with gen.:

ambiguus imperandi,

irresolute, Tac. A. 1, 7:

pudoris ac metus,

wavering between shame and fear, id. ib. 2, 40:

futuri,

id. H. 3, 43.— Adv.: ambĭguē, doubtfully, ambiguously, Cic. de Or. 2, 26; id. N. D. 1, 31; Aur. Vict. 35:

pugnare,

with doubtful success, Tac. A. 2, 21 al.

ambĭgŭus, a, um, adj. [ambigo], going about, hither and thither.

Lit.:

per ambiguum favorem gratiam victoris spectare,

i. e. in that they show equal friendliness to both sides, Liv. 21, 52:

ambiguus Proteus,

who sometimes takes one form, sometimes another, changeable, Ov. M. 2, 9:

ambiguus fuerit, modo vir, modo femina, Scython,

id. ib. 4, 280:

Inque virum soliti vultus mutare ferinos Ambigui prosecta lupi,

they sometimes assume the form of a wolf and sometimes that of a man, id. ib. 7, 271:

promisit Ambiguam Salamina, h. l. = alteram,

a second Salamis, Hor. C. 1, 7, 29. —

Transf.

Uncertain, doubtful (syn.: dubius, incertus): ambiguum est quod in ambas agi partes animo potest. Hujusmodi apud Graecos amphibola dicuntur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 17 Müll.:

quidquid incerti mihi in animo prius aut ambiguom fuit, Nunc liquet, nunc defaecatum est,

Plaut. Ps. 2, 4, 69: etiam si dudum fuerat ambiguom hoc mihi, * Ter. Hec. 4, 4, 26:

difficile et ambiguum,

Vulg. Deut. 17, 8:

haud ambiguus rex, i. e. sine dubio rex futurus,

Liv. 40, 8.— Subst.: ambĭgŭum, i, n., doubt, uncertainty:

in ambiguo est,

Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 193:

in ambiguo relinquere,

Lucr. 4, 1133: non habui ambiguum, Brut. ap. Cic. Fam. 11, 11:

servet in ambiguo Juppiter,

Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 28:

non sane alias magis in ambiguo Britannia fuit,

Tac. Agr. 5.—Also in acc. absol. in the Gr. manner: Ambiguum Clymene precibus Phaëthontis an irā Mota magis, it being uncertain whether, etc., Ov. M. 1, 765 (so, incertum, Tac. Agr. 7:

dubium,

id. A. 1, 5).—

Of discourse, obscure, dark, ambiguous:

scriptum,

Cic. Top. 25:

verba ambigua distinximus,

id. Or. 29, 102:

oracula,

id. Div. 2, 56:

responsa,

Suet. Tib. 24:

divinatio,

Vulg. Ezech. 12, 24.— Subst.: ambĭgŭum, i, n., an obscure, dark saying:

ambiguorum complura sunt genera,

Cic. de Or. 2, 26, 111; 2, 61, 250; Auct. ad Her. 1, 6; 1, 12 al.:

voces,

Verg. A. 2, 98.—

Trop., uncertain, wavering; not to be relied on, untrustworthy. —So of moral conduct:

esse ambiguā fide,

Liv. 6, 2:

puer acris ingenii sed ambigui,

Plin. Ep. 4, 2:

femina bonis atque honestis moribus, non ambiguā pudicitiā,

Gell. 3, 16:

per ambiguas vias,

Ov. H. 10, 62:

domum timet ambiguam Tyriosque bilinguis,

Verg. A 1, 661.—Of fortune, changing, fluctuating: ambiguarum rerum sciens, Tac. A. 1, 64.

with gen.:

ambiguus imperandi,

irresolute, Tac. A. 1, 7:

pudoris ac metus,

wavering between shame and fear, id. ib. 2, 40:

futuri,

id. H. 3, 43.— Adv.: ambĭguē, doubtfully, ambiguously, Cic. de Or. 2, 26; id. N. D. 1, 31; Aur. Vict. 35:

pugnare,

with doubtful success, Tac. A. 2, 21 al.

* * *

lingua (ante-class. form dingua, like dagrima for lacrima, Mar. Victorin. p. 2457 and 2470 P.; cf. the letter D), ae, f. [Sanscr. jihvā; original Lat. form. dingua; A. -S. tunga; Germ. Zunge; Engl. tongue. Not from the root lih, lich, v. lingo], the tongue.

Lit.:

fac proserpentem bestiam me duplicem ut habeam linguam (of a kiss in which the tongues touched each other),

Plaut. As. 3, 3, 105:

lingua haeret metu,

Ter. Eun. 5, 5, 7:

in ore sita lingua est, finita dentibus,

Cic. N. D. 2, 59, 149:

linguā haesitantes,

id. de Or. 1, 25, 115:

linguā properanti legere,

Ov. P. 3, 5, 9:

linguā titubante loqui,

id. Tr. 3, 1, 21:

quo facilius verba ore libero exprimeret, calculos lingua volvens dicere domi solebat (Demosthenes),

Quint. 11, 3, 54: linguam exserere, to thrust out the tongue, in token of derision or contempt, Liv. 7, 10: so,

lingua ejecta,

Cic. de Or. 2, 66, 266:

lingua minor,

the epiglottis, Plin. 11, 37, 66, § 175.—Comically, as mock term of endearment:

hujus voluptas, te opsecro, hujus mel, hujus cor, hujus labellum, hujus lingua,

Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 178; cf. v. 175.—In mal. part.: homo malae linguae, a fellow with a bad tongue, i. q. fellator, Mart. 3, 80, 2; Min. Fel. Oct. 28.—

Transf.

Since the tongue is an organ of speech, a tongue, utterance, speech, language:

largus opum, lingua melior,

Verg. A. 11, 338:

facilem benevolumque lingua tua jam tibi me reddidit,

Ter. Hec. 5, 1, 35:

non tu tibi istam praetruncari linguam largiloquam jubes?

Plaut. Mil. 2, 3, 47:

Latium beare divite linguā,

Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 120:

lingua quasi flabello seditionis contionem ventilare,

Cic. Fl. 23, 54:

linguam continere,

id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 13:

tenere,

Ov. F. 2, 602:

moderari,

Sall. J. 84:

linguae solutio,

Cic. de Or. 1, 25, 114:

linguam solvere ad jurgia,

Ov. M. 3, 261:

quidam operarii linguā celeri et exercitatā,

Cic. de Or. 1, 18, 83:

ut vitemus linguas hominum,

id. Fam. 9, 2, 2:

Aetolorum linguas retundere,

to check their tongues, bring them to silence, Liv. 33, 3; cf.:

claudente noxarum conscientiā linguam,

Amm. 16, 12, 61:

si mihi lingua foret,

Ov. H. 21, 205:

ne vati noceat mala lingua futuro,

Verg. E. 7, 28: favete linguis, i. e. give attention, " be silent that you may hear," Hor. C. 3, 1, 2; Ov. F. 1, 71:

linguis animisque faventes,

Juv. 12, 83:

nam lingua mali pars pessima servi,

id. 9, 121:

mercedem imponere linguae,

i. e. to speak for pay, id. 7, 149:

usum linguae reciperare,

Amm. 17, 12, 10:

linguā debili esse,

to stammer, Gell. 1, 12, 2.—Comically: os habeat, linguam, perfidiam, tongue, i. e. readiness in speech, Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 33. —

The tongue or language of a people:

lingua Latina, Graeca,

Cic. Fin. 1, 3, 10:

Graeca et Latina lingua,

Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 6:

(Massilia) tam procul a Graecorum regionibus, disciplinis linguāque divisa,

Cic. Fl. 26, 63:

quod quidem Latina lingua sic observat, ut, etc.,

id. Or. 44, 150:

Gallicae linguae scientiam habere,

Caes. B. G. 1, 47:

qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli, appellantur,

id. ib. 1, 1:

dissimili linguā,

Sall. C. 6, 2:

linguā utrāque,

i. e. Greek and Latin, Hor. S. 1, 10, 23; so, auctores utriusque linguae, Quint. prooem. 1;

1, 1, 14: Mithridates, cui duas et viginti linguas notas fuisse,

id. 11, 2, 50:

haud rudis Graecae linguae,

Curt. 5, 11, 4; 5, 4, 4; Nep. Milt. 3, 2:

Syrus in Tiberim Orontes et linguam et mores vexit,

Juv. 3, 63.—

Dialect, idiom, mode of speech (post-Aug.): illis non verborum modo, sed. linguarum etiam se inter differentium copia est. Quint. 12, 10, 34:

Crassus quinque Graeci sermonis differentias sic tenuit, ut, qua quisque apud eum linguā postulasset, eadem jus sibi redditum ferret,

id. 11, 2, 50:

utar enim historicā linguā,

Sen. Q. N. 1, 13, 3:

si philosophorum linguā uti voluissem,

id. ib. 2, 2, 4.—

Poet. of animals. the voice, note, song, bark, etc.:

linguae volucrum,

Verg. A. 3, 361; 10, 177:

linguam praecludere (canis),

Phaedr. 1, 22, 5.—

An utterance, expression:

lingua secretior,

a dark saying, Quint. 1, 1, 35.—

Of tongue-shaped things.

A plant, also called lingulaca, Plin. 24, 19, 108, § 170.—

Lingua bubula, a plant, oxtongue, bugloss, Cato, R. R. 40; Plin. 17, 14, 24, § 112.—

Lingua canina, Cels. 5, 27, 18 init.;

and lingua canis,

App. Herb. 96, the plant hound's-tongue, also called cynoglossos; q. v.—

A tongue of land: id promontorium, Cujus lingua in altum proicit, Pac. ap. Gell. 4, 17 fin.:

lingua in altum mille passuum excurrens,

Liv. 37, 31, 9; Weissenb. ad Liv. 25, 15, 12:

eminet in altum lingua, in qua urbs sita est,

Liv. 44, 11:

tenuem producit in aequora linguam,

Luc. 2, 614; cf.: lingua dicitur promontorii genus non excellentis sed molliter in planum devexi, Paul. ex Fest. p. 121 Müll.—

A spoonful, as a measure, Plin. 26, 11, 73, § 119 (al. lingulis).—

The tongue or reed of a flute, Plin. 10, 29, 43, § 84.—

The short arm of a lever:

vectis lingua sub onus subdita,

Vitr. 10, 8 (cf. ligula, VII.).