ē-nervo, āvi, ātum, 1 (scanned ĕnervans and ĕnervātum in Prud. Cath. 8, 64; contra Symm. 2, 143), v. a. [enervis], to take out the nerves or sinews.
- I. Prop. (rare and post-class.): poplites securi, App. M. 8, p. 215: cerebella, Apic. 4, 2; 7, 7: enervatus Melampus, i. e. unmanned, Claud. in Eutr. 1, 315.
- II. Transf., in gen., to enervate, weaken, render effeminate (class.; esp. freq. in the part. perf.): non plane me enervavit senectus, Cic. de Sen. 10, 32: corpora animosque, Liv. 23, 18: artus undis, Ov. M. 4, 286: vires, Hor. Epod. 8, 2: animos (citharae), Ov. R. Am. 753: orationem compositione verborum, Cic. Or. 68 fin.; cf.: corpus orationis, Petr. S. 2, 2: incendium belli (with contundere), Cic. Rep. 1, 1.
Hence, ēnervātus, a, um, P. a., unnerved, weakened, effeminate, weakly, unmanly: enervati atque exsangues, Cic. Sest. 10, 24; cf. id. Att. 2, 14; id. Pis. 33 fin.; 35, 12: philosophus (with mollis and languidus), id. de Or. 1, 52 fin.
Transf. of inanimate subjects: ratio et oratio (with mollis), id. Tusc. 4, 17, 38; cf.: muliebrisque sententia, id. ib. 2, 6: vita (with ignava), Gell. 19, 12 fin.: felicitas, Sen. Prov. 4 med.