Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

rĕ-flecto, xi, xum, 3, v. a. and n.

  1. I. Act., to bend or turn back or backwards; to turn about or away (class.).
    1. A. Lit.: caudam canum degeneres sub alvum reflectunt, Plin. 11, 50, 111, § 265; 11, 37, 78, § 199: caput leviter, Cat. 45, 10: pedem inde (sc. ex Labyrintho) sospes, id. 64, 112; cf.: gressum, to go back, return. Sen. Thyest. 428: cursum subito ad Contrebiam, Val. Max. 7, 4, 5 fin.: colla, Verg. A. 11, 622: oculos, Ov. M. 7, 341; cf.: visus, Val. Fl. 5, 455.
      Part. perf.: (elephantorum) dentes reflexi, tusks. Plin. 11, 37, 62, § 165; so, cornu (with adunco aere), Sen. Oedip. 731: cornicula (scarabaei), Plin. 30, 11, 30, § 100: cervix. Verg. A. 10, 535; Ov. A. A. 3, 779: Stat. Achill. 1, 382.
      Mid.: illam tereti cervice reflexam, bending herself back, Verg. A. 8, 633; cf.: telum reflexum, Sil. 16, 54; and poet.: (Ascalaphus) in caput crescit, longosque reflectitur ungues, he bends himself back into long claws, i. e. his nails are bent back and lengthened into claws, Ov. M. 5, 547.
    2. B. Trop., to turn back, bring back: quem neque fides, neque jusjurandumRepressit neque reflexit, * Ter. Ad. 3, 2, 9; cf.: nonnumquam animum incitatum ad ulciscendam orationem tuam revoco ipse et reflecto, Cic. Sull. 16, 46: quibus (causis) mentes aut incitantur aut reflectuntur, id. de Or. 1, 12, 53: aliquem, Sen. Agam. 155: animum reflexi, i. e. I reflected within myself, Verg. A. 2, 741; cf.: mentem ad Romanam urbem, Mamert. Grat. Act. 14: in melius tua, qui potes, orsa reflectas! change, alter, Verg. A. 10, 632; to reverse a proposition or inference: reflexim inferre, App. Dogm. Plat. 3, p. 36, 5; cf. Mart. Cap. 4, § 411.
  2. * II. Neutr., to bend or turn back; trop., to give way, yield: ubi jam morbi reflexit causa, Lucr. 3, 502.