gladius

English

Etymology

From Latin gladius (“Roman short sword, gladius”). Doublet of glaive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡlæd.i.əs/

Noun

gladius (plural gladiuses or gladii)

1. (historical) A Roman sword roughly two feet long.
   • 1882, “The Genesis of the Sword”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume 21, page 81:

     Finally, the Romans made the gladius—sharp, of highly-tempered steel, and strongly piercing—the first real sword (Figs. 17, 18, 19), of which only five specimens are now known to exist.

   • 2007, Pat Southern, The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History, page 212:

     The gladius was effective either for cutting or for thrusting and was used by legionaries and auxiliaries.

2. (zoology) A pen, a hard internal bodypart of certain cephalopods, made of chitin-like material.
   • 2017 October 31, Mark Carnall, The Guardian‎^[1]:

     From the Cretaceous of North America fossilised gladii in the enigmatic genus Tusoteuthis have been estimated to give a mantle length (body size) of 1.8m, just less than that of the giant squid’s.

Translations

Roman sword

• Arabic: غْلَادِيُوس m (ḡlādiyus)
• Dutch: gladius (nl) m
• Finnish: gladius
• Latin: gladius (la) m
• Marathi: ग्लेडियस f (gleḍiyas)
• Portuguese: gládio (pt) m

zoology: internal skeleton of squid

• Finnish: selkäkilpi
• Portuguese: gládio (pt) m

Dutch

Etymology

Gladius.

From Latin gladius (“Roman short sword, gladius”).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

gladius m (plural gladii, diminutive gladiusje n)

1. Roman short sword; gladius

   Hypernym: kortzwaard

Usage notes

Like many Dutch words borrowed from Latin, the plural takes the form of the Latin nominative plural.

See also

• spatha

Finnish

Etymology

< Latin

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡlɑdius/, [ˈɡlɑ̝dius̠]
• Rhymes: -ɑdius
• Syllabification^(key): gla‧di‧us

Noun

gladius

1. gladius (Roman sword)

   Hypernym: miekka

Declension

Inflection of gladius (Kotus type 39/vastaus, no gradation)
nominative		gladius	gladiukset
genitive		gladiuksen	gladiusten gladiuksien
partitive		gladiusta	gladiuksia
illative		gladiukseen	gladiuksiin
		singular	plural
nominative		gladius	gladiukset
accusative	nom.	gladius	gladiukset
	gen.	gladiuksen
genitive		gladiuksen	gladiusten gladiuksien
partitive		gladiusta	gladiuksia
inessive		gladiuksessa	gladiuksissa
elative		gladiuksesta	gladiuksista
illative		gladiukseen	gladiuksiin
adessive		gladiuksella	gladiuksilla
ablative		gladiukselta	gladiuksilta
allative		gladiukselle	gladiuksille
essive		gladiuksena	gladiuksina
translative		gladiukseksi	gladiuksiksi
abessive		gladiuksetta	gladiuksitta
instructive		—	gladiuksin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of gladius (Kotus type 39/vastaus, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative gladiukseni gladiukseni accusative nom. gladiukseni gladiukseni gen. gladiukseni genitive gladiukseni gladiusteni gladiuksieni partitive gladiustani gladiuksiani inessive gladiuksessani gladiuksissani elative gladiuksestani gladiuksistani illative gladiukseeni gladiuksiini adessive gladiuksellani gladiuksillani ablative gladiukseltani gladiuksiltani allative gladiukselleni gladiuksilleni essive gladiuksenani gladiuksinani translative gladiuksekseni gladiuksikseni abessive gladiuksettani gladiuksittani instructive — — comitative — gladiuksineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative gladiuksesi gladiuksesi accusative nom. gladiuksesi gladiuksesi gen. gladiuksesi genitive gladiuksesi gladiustesi gladiuksiesi partitive gladiustasi gladiuksiasi inessive gladiuksessasi gladiuksissasi elative gladiuksestasi gladiuksistasi illative gladiukseesi gladiuksiisi adessive gladiuksellasi gladiuksillasi ablative gladiukseltasi gladiuksiltasi allative gladiuksellesi gladiuksillesi essive gladiuksenasi gladiuksinasi translative gladiukseksesi gladiuksiksesi abessive gladiuksettasi gladiuksittasi instructive — — comitative — gladiuksinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative gladiuksemme gladiuksemme accusative nom. gladiuksemme gladiuksemme gen. gladiuksemme genitive gladiuksemme gladiustemme gladiuksiemme partitive gladiustamme gladiuksiamme inessive gladiuksessamme gladiuksissamme elative gladiuksestamme gladiuksistamme illative gladiukseemme gladiuksiimme adessive gladiuksellamme gladiuksillamme ablative gladiukseltamme gladiuksiltamme allative gladiuksellemme gladiuksillemme essive gladiuksenamme gladiuksinamme translative gladiukseksemme gladiuksiksemme abessive gladiuksettamme gladiuksittamme instructive — — comitative — gladiuksinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative gladiuksenne gladiuksenne accusative nom. gladiuksenne gladiuksenne gen. gladiuksenne genitive gladiuksenne gladiustenne gladiuksienne partitive gladiustanne gladiuksianne inessive gladiuksessanne gladiuksissanne elative gladiuksestanne gladiuksistanne illative gladiukseenne gladiuksiinne adessive gladiuksellanne gladiuksillanne ablative gladiukseltanne gladiuksiltanne allative gladiuksellenne gladiuksillenne essive gladiuksenanne gladiuksinanne translative gladiukseksenne gladiuksiksenne abessive gladiuksettanne gladiuksittanne instructive — — comitative — gladiuksinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative gladiuksensa gladiuksensa accusative nom. gladiuksensa gladiuksensa gen. gladiuksensa genitive gladiuksensa gladiustensa gladiuksiensa partitive gladiustaan gladiustansa gladiuksiaan gladiuksiansa inessive gladiuksessaan gladiuksessansa gladiuksissaan gladiuksissansa elative gladiuksestaan gladiuksestansa gladiuksistaan gladiuksistansa illative gladiukseensa gladiuksiinsa adessive gladiuksellaan gladiuksellansa gladiuksillaan gladiuksillansa ablative gladiukseltaan gladiukseltansa gladiuksiltaan gladiuksiltansa allative gladiukselleen gladiuksellensa gladiuksilleen gladiuksillensa essive gladiuksenaan gladiuksenansa gladiuksinaan gladiuksinansa translative gladiuksekseen gladiukseksensa gladiuksikseen gladiuksiksensa abessive gladiuksettaan gladiuksettansa gladiuksittaan gladiuksittansa instructive — — comitative — gladiuksineen gladiuksinensa

Related terms

• gladiaattori

Latin

gladius

Etymology

Possibly from Gaulish *kladyos (“sword”), from Proto-Celtic *kladiwos (“sword”) (compare Old Irish claideb (“sword”), Welsh cleddyf (“sword”) from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂- (“to beat, break”)). Cognate with Latin clādes, clāva, percellō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡla.di.us/, [ˈɡɫ̪äd̪iʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡla.di.us/, [ˈɡläːd̪ius]

Noun

gladius m (genitive gladiī or gladī); second declension

1. sword

   Synonyms: ēnsis, mūcrō, spatha

   Mitte gladium in vaginam. ― Put the sword into its sheath.

   in gladium incumbere ― to fall on one's sword

   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 2.101:

     quid tibi cum gladiō?

     What are you doing with a sword?

2. (figuratively) murder, death

   Synonym: mors

3. a gladiatorial contest
4. swordfish

   Synonym: xiphiās

5. (slang) penis

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	gladius	gladiī
Genitive	gladiī gladī1	gladiōrum
Dative	gladiō	gladiīs
Accusative	gladium	gladiōs
Ablative	gladiō	gladiīs
Vocative	gladie	gladiī

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Derived terms

• gladiolus
• gladiātor
• gladiātōrium
• gladiātōriē
• gladiātūra
• glāvus

 

Descendants

• Gallo-Italic:
  • Old Ligurian: iao (“sword”)
  • Old Lombard: giaio
  • ⇒ Piedmontese: sgiái (“horror”)
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Old Catalan: glay, glai (“sword, fright”)
    • ⇒ Catalan: esglai (“fright”)
  • Old Franco-Provençal: glaio
  • Old French: glai, glay (“sword, lance, sword-lily”)
    • French: glai (“sword-lily”) (regional)
  • Old Occitan: glai (“horror, ice”), glazi (“sword, carnage”) (probably from gladī NOM.PL)
    • Auvergnat: glasi (“sword”)
    • Limousin: glaize
• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: ghiado (“sword, cold”)
  • Neapolitan: jajo (“disgust, shiver”)
• Borrowings:
  • → Dutch: gladius
  • → English: gladius
  • → Portuguese: gládio
  • → Spanish: gladio
  • → Romanian: gladium

References

• “gladius”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “gladius”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• gladius in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• gladius in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • a sword hangs over his neck: gladius cervicibus impendet
    
  • to use javelins at a distance, swords at close quarters: eminus hastis, comminus gladiis uti
    
  • to draw one's sword (from the scabbard): gladium educere (e vagīna)
    
  • to sheath one's sword: gladium in vaginam recondere
    
  • to draw one's sword: gladium stringere, destringere
    
  • to plunge one's sword in some one's breast: gladium alicui in pectus infigere
    
  • to transfix, pierce a man's breast with one's sword: gladio aliquem per pectus transfigere (Liv. 2. 46)
    
  • to fight with swords at close quarters: gladio comminus (opp. eminus) rem gerere
    
  • to throw down the javelins (pila) and fight with the sword: omissis pilis gladiis rem gerere
    
  • swords must now decide the day: res ad gladios vēnit
    
  • swords must now decide the day: res gladiis geri coepta est
    
  • to throw oneself on the enemy with drawn sword: strictis gladiis in hostem ferri
    
• “gladius”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “gladius”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “gladius”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 4: G H I, page 144