dedecet

Latin > English (Lewis & Short)

dē-dĕcet: cuit, 2,
I v. impers. (very rarely pers.,
v. infra, II.), it is unseemly, unsuitable, unbecoming: decere quasi aptum esse consentaneumque tempori et personae, etc.... contraque item dedecere, Cic. Or. 22, 74.—
I Prop. (class.; usually connected with a negation), construed like decet (q. v.), with nom. or inf. rei, and with acc. pers. or absol.
   a
   (a)    Neque te ministrum dedecet myrtus neque me sub arta vite bibentem, Hor. Od. 1, 38, 7: me usus precum, Ov. M. 6, 689: nihil se, id. Rem. Am. 410. In <number opt="n">plur.</number>: nec dominam motae dedecuere comae, Ov. Am. 1, 7, 12; 3, 15, 4.—
   (b)    Ut, si quid dedeceat, vitemus, Cic. Off. 1, 41: vox, Quint. 11, 3, 104.—
   b
   (a)    Oratorem irasci minime decet, simulare non dedecet, Cic. Tusc. 4, 25; Ov. A. A. 2, 530: togam removeri, Quint. 11, 3, 124.—
   (b)    (Togae) extremam oram rejecisse non dedecet, Quint. 11, 3, 140; Hor. Od. 2, 12, 17.—
   c Ut iis, quae habent, modice et scienter utantur, et ut ne dedeceat, Cic. de Or. 1, 29, 132. —
II By poet. license person. as a v. a., to dishonor, neglect a thing: si non dedecui tua jussa, Stat. Th. 10, 340: Atticus Claudiorum imagines dedecere videbatur, Tac. A. 2, 43.