(adjective) : frăgĭlis, e, id.
* Easily broken, brittle, fragile (class.; esp. freq. in the transf. signif.; cf.: caducus, fluxus).
* Lit.: cadi,Ov. M. 12, 243: coryli (with tiliae molles),id. ib. 10, 93: rami,Verg. E. 8, 40: myrtus,Hor. C. 3, 23, 16: ratis,id. ib. 1, 3, 10; cf. phaselus,id. ib. 3, 2, 28: aes malleis,Plin. 34, 8, 20, § 94; cf.: saccharon dentibus,id. 12, 8, 17, § 32: crystalli centrum,id. 37, 2, 10, § 28: caput ictibus parvis,Gell. 6, 1, 11: tenuior fragiliorque penna scarabaeorum,Plin. 11, 28, 34, § 97: ut fragilis glacies interit ira mora,Ov. A. A. 1, 347.—Poet.: aquae,i. e. ice,Ov. Tr. 3, 10, 26: fragiles sonitus chartarum,i. e. crackling,Lucr. 6, 112: lauri,Verg. E. 8, 82: pollicibus fragiles increpuere manus,Prop. 4 (5), 7, 12. cf. fragor.
* Transf., in gen., weak, perishable, frail (physically or mentally): fragile corpus animus sempiternus movet,Cic. Rep. 6, 24 fin.; in fragili corpore odiosa omnis offensio est,id. Sen. 18, 65; cf.: (corpora) fragili natura praedita,Lucr. 1, 581; and absol.: fragili quaerens illidere dentem, Offendet solido,Hor. S. 2, 1, 77: fragilissimus alvus, Att. ap. Non. 193, 26.—Of an effeminate man: Julius et fragilis Pediatia (sarcastically in the fem. gen. instead of Pediatius), qs. the delicate Miss Pediatius, Hor. S. 1, 8, 39: quis enim confidit, sibi semper id stabile et firmum permansurum, quod fragile et caducum sit?Cic. Fin. 2, 27, 86: res humanae fragiles caducaeque sunt,id. Lael. 27, 102; id. Leg. 1, 8, 24; cf.: divitiarum et formae gloria fluxa atque fragilis est,Sall. C. 1, 4: fortuna populi,Cic. Rep. 2, 28 fin.: nec aliud est aeque fragile in homine (quam memoria),Plin. 7, 24, 24, § 90: nulli vita fragilior (quam homini),id. 7 praef. § 5; cf.: (hominum) aevum omne et breve et fragile est,Plin. Pan. 78, 2: haud aevi fragilis sonipes,Sil. 3, 386: anni fragiles et inertior aetas, the frail years (of age), Ov. Tr. 4, 8, 3.—Adv. does not occur.

s. TLL