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.

* cunctāmen (cont-), ĭnis, n. [cunctor], a delaying, hesitating, Paul. Nol. 24, 416.

cuncto, āre, 1, v. n. (ante-class. collat. form of cunctor), to delay, hesitate, Enn. ap. Non. p. 469, 27 (Com. Rel. v. 3 Vahl.): cunctas? intus alii festinant, Plaut. Cas. 4, 2, 13: cunctant subferre laborem, Att. ap. Non. p. 469, 24 (Trag. Rel. v. 72 Rib.).

cunctor (in many MSS. and edd. also contor), ātus, 1 (archaic inf. cunctarier, Lucr. 3, 67), v. dep. [cf. Sanscr. çank, to be anxious; Gr. ὄκνος], to delay action (from deliberation or indolence), to linger, loiter, hesitate, doubt (freq. and class.); constr. absol., with the inf. or a subj.-clause.

  1. I. Of personal subjects.
          1. (α) Absol., so the verse of Ennius upon the dictator Q. Fab. Maximus Cunctator: unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem, Enn. ap. Cic. Off. 1, 24, 84 (Ann. v. 313 Vahl.; also cited Cic. Sen. 4, 10; id. Att. 2, 19, 2; Liv. 30, 26, 9); imitated by Verg., A. 6, 846, Ov. F. 2, 242 (the idea contained in cunctando is expressed by sedendo, Varr. R. R. 1, 2, 2; cf.: sedendo et cunctando bellum gerebat, Liv. 22, 24, 10; and by non pugnando, Plin. 22, 5, 5, § 10): assequor omnia si propero, si cunctor amitto, Cic. Att. 10, 8, 5: an etiam tunc quiesceretis, cunctaremini, timeretis? id. Sest. 38, 81; cf.: ne quis cesset … qui cunctatus fuerit, etc., Liv. 35, 35, 17, and v. cesso: nostris militibus cunctantibus, Desilite, inquit, etc., Caes. B. G. 4, 25: alius alium exspectantes cunctamini, Sall. C. 52, 28; Ov. M. 8, 753 et saep.: in vitā cunctatur et haeret, Lucr. 3, 407; cf. Cic. Tusc. 1, 46, 111: inter metum et iram cunctatus, Tac. A. 2, 66: ille inter pudorem et iram cunctatus, id. ib. 14, 49: cunctante ad ea Mithridate, id. ib. 12, 46: ut ad laborem capessendum nihil cunctentur, Gell. 2, 29, 12.
            Impers. pass.: nec cunctatum apud latera, Tac. A. 3, 46: non esse cunctandum, Cic. Fam. 1, 7, 5: non cunctandum neque cessandum esse, Liv. 35, 18, 8.
          2. (β) With inf.: non est cunctandum profiteri, hunc, etc., Cic. Univ. 3 fin.: utrisque cunctantibus periculum summae rerum facere, Liv. 25, 39, 18; 31, 7, 5: ne cunctetur ipse propius accedere, Sall. C. 44, 6; id. J. 13, 6; Col. 8, 15 fin.; Suet. Caes. 70; id. Vesp. 16: ne cunctaretur Agrippam morte adficere, Tac. A. 1, 6.
          3. (γ) With rel.-clause (rare): vos cunctamini etiam nunc, quid faciatis? Sall. C. 52, 25: diu cunctatus an, etc., Suet. Caes. 81; id. Aug. 8: primum cunctati, utrumne … an, etc., id. Caes. 80: non cunctandum existimavit quin, etc., Caes. B. G. 3, 23 fin.
  2. II. Poet. transf., of things as subjects: tardum cunctatur olivum, runs slowly, Lucr. 2, 392: refrigescit cunctando plaga, id. 4, 703: turpis contemptus et acris egestas … videntur cunctarier, id. 3, 67; cf.: cunctatur et amnis Rauca sonans revocatque pedem Tiberinus ab alto, Verg. A. 9, 124.
    Hence, cunctans, antis, P. a., delaying, lingering, dilatory, slow, tardy.
      1. 1. Of persons (post-Aug. and rare): erat cunctantior cautiorque, Plin. Ep. 9, 13, 6; cf. id. ib. 2, 16, 4: ad dimicandum cunctantior, Suet. Caes. 60; cf.: familia cunctans ad opera, Col. 11, 1, 14: naturā ac senectā cunctantior, Tac. H. 3, 4.
        With acc. respect.: alternos aegro cunctantem poplite gressus, Val. Fl. 2, 93.
      2. 2. Of things, tenacious, tough, slow, resisting, etc. (poet. and rare): mellis cunctantior actus, Lucr. 3, 193: corripit Aeneas extemplo avidusque refringit Cunctantem (ramum), Verg. A. 6, 211: glaebas cunctantis exspecta, id. G. 2, 236: corda viri, Val. Fl. 3, 693: ira, Stat. Th. 5, 680.
        Adv.: cunctanter, slowly, with delay (rare), Liv. 1, 36, 4; 10, 4, 8; Tac. H. 2, 52 al.
        Comp., Suet. Galb. 12; id. Caes. 19; Tac. A. 1, 71.