‖ retiarius
(riːtɪˈɛərɪəs, riːʃ-)
[L. rētiārius, f. rēte a net.]
A Roman gladiator who carried a net with which to entangle his adversary.
| 1647 R. Stapylton Juvenal 267 And there Gracchus, Romes infamy, doth arm'd appear, A Retiarius. 1693 Stepney in Dryden Juvenal (1697) 209 As Retiarius he Attacks his Foe; First waves his Trident ready for the throw, Next casts his Net. 1748 Thomson Cast. Indol. ii. xliii, As in throng'd Amphitheatre, of old, The wary Retiarius trap'd his foe. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 241/2 The retiarius attempted to cast his net over the head of the secutor. 1858 Birch Anc. Pottery II. 289 Another lamp in the same collection has a retiarius holding his trident. 1880 Meredith Tragic Com. (1881) 96, I..encountered a retiarius, and the meshes are on my head and arms. |