Friday, August 9, 2024

18.09.24: Level 1; military vocabulary [3]

tribūnus, -ī [2/m]: can have more than one meaning; in civilian politics, the word can refer to the tribunes of the plebs i.e. a political office available to the plebeians (the Roman commoners); in a military context – tribūnī mīlitum – they were superior officers.

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:id=tribuni-militum-harpers

lēgātus, -ī [2/m]: sometimes a tricky word to “pin down”, but it often refers to ‘envoys’ or ‘ambassadors’; in the literature, you will often read of them being sent to negotiate. It can mean ‘lieutenant’ or ‘commander’ but has a far wider use.

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=legatus-harpers

dux, ducis [3/m]: commander; general; captain

imperātor, imperātōris [2/m]: can mean ‘emperor’ but, in the military, it was a title awarded to a general who had achieved his first major victory either by a declaration of the Senate or, indeed, by his own soldiers

aurīga, -ae [1/m]: charioteer

centuriō, centuriōnis [3/m]: centurion

eques, equitis [3/m]: horseman; cavalryman

essedārius, -ī [2/m]: [i] charioteer from Gaul or Britannia; gladiator who fights from a chariot

mīles, mīlitis [3/m]: soldier

nūntius, -ī [2/m]: messenger

praefectus, -ī [2/m]: the person who "has been put in charge" (of something) and has more than a military meaning; [i] in the army it can refer to a commander, for example praefectus castrōrum, the camp commander [ii] in Roman provincial management, the praefectus referred to the governor of a province

sagittārius, -ī [2/m]: archer

speculātor, speculātōris [3/m]: scout; spy


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