elegantia

ēlĕgantia, ae, f. [elegans].

* I.

A being nice or particular; exquisiteness, fastidiousness (ante-class. and very rare):

ejus elegantia meam extemplo speciem spernat,

Plaut. Mil. 4, 6, 20.—Far more freq.,

II.

Taste, propriety, refinement, grace, elegance (cf.: gustus, sapor, judicium).

(α).

With gen.: tu eloquentiam ab elegantia doctrinae segregandam putes, Cic. de Or. [p. 637] 1, 2, 5:

vitae,

Tac. A. 14, 19:

morum,

id. ib. 5, 8:

capilli (with venustas oris),

Plin. 35, 10, 36, § 67:

ac subtilitas operum,

id. 16, 15, 26, § 66 et saep.:

verborum Latinorum,

Cic. Brut. 75, 261; cf.

scriptorum,

id. Fam. 4, 4; so,

Latini sermonis,

id. de Or. 2, 7, 28:

mira sermonis,

Quint. 10, 1, 114:

figurarum,

id. 12, 9, 6;

and transf.: Socraticorum,

id. 10, 1, 83; cf.

Secundi,

id. 12, 10, 11. —In plur.:

vocum verborumque,

Gell. 2, 9 fin. —

(β).

Absol.:

qua munditia homines! qua elegantia!

Cic. Fam. 9, 20, 2; cf. id. Sull. 28, 79; id. Leg. 3, 1:

quae (agricultura) abhorret ab omni politiore elegantia,

id. Fin. 3, 2; cf. Plin. 13, 9, 18, § 62; 14, 6, 8, § 71; Suet. Aug. 73:

elegantia modo et munditia remanebit,

Cic. Or. 23 fin.; cf. Quint. 6, 3, 20; 10, 2, 19 al.—In plur.:

laudatus propter elegantias dominus,

Petr. 34, 5; Gell. 1, 4; cf. id. 19, 4.