a shield given by Mars to Numa Pompilius as the palladium of Rome.
2.
any of 11 counterfeits of this shield, carried with it on ceremonial occasions.
Origin: 1590–1600; < L ancīle, traditionally said to be equiv. to an- (var. of ambi-ambi-before c-) + -cīle (-cīd- comb. form of caed(ere) to cut (cf. -cide) + *-sl- n. suffix + -e, earlier *-i, s. vowel for compounds), referring to the deep indentations in the waist of the shield
[an-sahy-lee, ahng-kee-ley] 
li