sĕnex, sĕnis (nom. and acc. of the neutr. plur. in the posit. and of the neutr. sing. in the comp. do not occur; orig. gen. sĕnicis, Plaut. Fragm. ap. Prisc. p. 724 P.), adj. [Sanscr. sana-s, old; Gr. ἕνος, ἕνη, old; cf.: senium, senesco, senatus, senilis, senectus, Seneca] (comp. senior), old, aged, advanced in years; and subst., an aged person, an old man, old woman (from the latter half of the fortieth year onward; v. infra the passages from Gell. 10, 28, 1, and from Liv. 30, 30; cf.: annosus, longaevus, vetulus).
- a. Adj.: (paterfamilias) vendat boves vetulos, plostrum vetus, ferramenta vetera, servum senem, etc., Cato, R. R. 2, 7: hic est vetus, vietus, veternosus senex, Ter. Eun. 4, 4, 21: nam vere pusus tu, tua amica senex, Papin. ap. Varr. L. L. 7, § 28 Müll.: turpe senex miles, turpe senilis amor, Ov. Am. 1, 9, 4: cervi, id. A. A. 3, 78: latrans, Phaedr. 5, 10, 7: porci, Juv. 6, 159: cygni, Mart. 5, 37, 1: mulli, id. 10, 30, 24: Bacchus (i. e. vinum), id. 13, 23; cf. of the same, auctumni, id. 3, 58, 7: Damascena (pruna), id. 5, 18, 3 et saep.: admodum senex, Cic. Sen. 4, 10: nemo est tam senex qui se annum non putet posse vivere, id. ib. 7, 24: nomen Nostra tuum senibus loqueretur pagina seclis, in later ages, Verg. Cir. 40.
Comp.: grandior seniorque, Lucr. 3, 955: Cato, quo erat nemo fere senior temporibus illis, Cic. Lael. 1, 5: quae vis senior est quam, etc., id. Leg. 2, 4, 9: corpora seniora, Cels. 5, 28, 4: anni, Ov. M. 15, 470: dens, Mart. 9, 58, 11: cadus, id. 9, 94, 2.
Rarely with aetate: Sophocles, aetate jam senior, Val. Max. 4, 3, 2 ext.: nobis adulescentibus seniores in agendo facti praecipere solebant, ne, etc., Quint. 5, 6, 6: senior ut ita dicam, quam illa aetas ferebat, oratio, more mature, Cic. Brut. 43, 160.
- b. Subst.: ut tum ad senem senex de senectute, sic, etc., Cic. Lael. 1, 5: quos ait Caccilius comicos stul tos senes, etc. … ut petulantia magis est adulescentium quam senum … sic ista senilis stultitia senum levium est … Appius et caecus et senex, etc. … senem, in quo est adulescentis aliquid, probo, etc., id. Sen. 11, 36 sq.: senem in patriam revertentem, unde puer profectus sum (the words of Hannibal, who was not yet fifty years of age), Liv. 30, 30: mixta senum ac juvenum densentur funera, Hor. C. 1, 28, 19; cf.: haec recinunt juvenes dictata senesque, id. Ep. 1, 1, 55: aeque neglectum pueris senibusque nocebit, id. ib. 1, 1, 26: ter aevo functus senex, i. e. Nestor, id. C. 2, 9, 14: tun’ capite cano amas, senex nequissime? Plaut. Merc. 2, 2, 34: quo senex nequior nullus vivit, id. Cas. 5, 1, 10: te sene omnium senem neminem esse ignaviorem, id. ib. 2, 3, 28 et saep.
Fem.: hanc tot mala ferre senem, this old woman, Tib. 1, 6, 82; Val. Fl. 1, 349; Stat. Th. 5, 149.
Comp., an elder, elderly person; sometimes (esp. in the poets) also for senex, an aged person: facilius sanescit puer vel adulescens quam senior, Cels. 5, 26, 6: si quis Forte coheredum senior male tussiet, Hor. S. 2, 5, 107: vix ea fatus erat senior (i. e. Anchises), Verg. A. 2, 692; so, = senex, Ov. M. 1, 645; 2, 702; 11, 646; 12, 182; 12, 540; id. F. 4, 515; Stat. S. 1, 3, 94; id. Achill. 2, 383 al.: (Servius Tullius) seniores a junioribus divisit, Cic. Rep. 2, 22, 39; cf. of the same: C. Tubero in Historiarum primo scripsit, Servium Tullium … eos (milites) ab anno septimo decimo ad annum quadragesimum sextum juniores, supraque eum annum seniores appellasse, Gell. 10, 28, 1: centuriae juniorum seniorumque, Liv. 1, 43.
Poet.: centuriae seniorum simply, for seniores, Hor. A. P. 341: curae fuit consulibus et senioribus Patrum, ut, etc., Liv. 2, 30: consulares ac seniores (opp. juniores Patrum), id. 3, 41: omnium seniorum, matrum familiae, virginum precibus et fletu excitati, Caes. B. C. 2, 4: sapienter, ut senior, suaserat, Flor. 1, 16, 10: juniores a senioribus consilium petiverunt, id. 2, 6, 26: haec … laeti audiere juvenes, ingrata senioribus erant, Curt. 8, 1, 27: hinc inter juniores senesque orta contentio est, id. 8, 1, 31.
In eccl. Lat., an elder in the synagogue or church, Vulg. Ezech. 7, 26; id. 2 Johan. 1.