flexus

English

Etymology

From Latin.

Noun

flexus (plural flexus)

1. (astronomy, geology) A low, curvilinear ridge with a scalloped pattern.
2. (dentistry) In infolding of enamel that separates lophs on an upper tooth.
   • 1955, Joseph Augustine Cushman, Raymond Cecil Moore, John Bernard Reeside, Journal of Paleontology, volume 29, page 130:

     A flexid or flexus is said to abut when the enamel of the flexid or flexus touches the enamel of the opposite side of the tooth. The distal end or termination of the flexid or flexus is described as flattened, rounded or narrowed.

Derived terms

• anteroflexus
• hypoflexus
• mesoflexus
• metaflexus
• paraflexus
• posteroflexus
• protoflexus
• punctus flexus

Anagrams

• fluxes, sexful

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfɫɛk.sʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈflɛk.sus]

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Latin flectō

Proto-Indo-European *-tus

Proto-Italic *-tus

Latin -tus

Latin flexus

From flectō (“to bend”) + -tus (froming action nouns).

Noun

flexus m (genitive flexūs); fourth declension

1. a bending, turning, winding
2. a transition, changing
3. (of speech) modulation, inflection of the voice
4. (grammar) inflection

   Synonym: flexūra

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	flexus	flexūs
genitive	flexūs	flexuum
dative	flexuī	flexibus
accusative	flexum	flexūs
ablative	flexū	flexibus
vocative	flexus	flexūs

Derived terms

• flexuōsus

Descendants

• → English: flex, flexus
• → Italian: flesso
• → Spanish: flexo, flexor

Etymology 2

Perfect passive participle of flectō.

Participle

flexus (feminine flexa, neuter flexum); first/second-declension participle

1. bent, curved, having been bent.
2. turned, having been turned around.
3. (figuratively) persuaded, having been prevailed upon.
4. (grammar) declined, conjugated, having been inflected.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	flexus	flexa	flexum		flexī	flexae	flexa
genitive	flexī	flexae	flexī		flexōrum	flexārum	flexōrum
dative	flexō	flexae	flexō		flexīs
accusative	flexum	flexam	flexum		flexōs	flexās	flexa
ablative	flexō	flexā	flexō		flexīs
vocative	flexe	flexa	flexum		flexī	flexae	flexa

Related terms

• flectō
• flexanimus
• flexibilis
• flexibilitās
• flexilis
• flexiō
• flexipēs
• flexivicē
• flexō
• flexūra

Further reading

• “flexus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “flexus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "flexus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “flexus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.