retiarius

[ ree-shee-air-ee-uhs ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Roman History.

, plural re·ti·ar·i·i [ree-shee-, air, -ee-ahy, -, air, -ee-ee].

retiarius

/ ˌriːtɪˈɛərɪəs; ˌriːʃɪ- /

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin rēte “net” + -i-, connecting vowel + -ārius, noun suffix; rete ( def ), -i- -ary ( def )

Latin, from rēte net

The Retiarius endeavoured to throw the net over his antagonist, and then to despatch him with the spear.

The big gladiator sat still waiting for the retiarius to finish him.

"If a man is active without being strong, I should make a retiarius of him," Scopus said.

Suddenly, when Sporus had approached nearly at arm's length, the retiarius threw himself forward and cast his net.

The conquering retiarius withdrew his net, and leaning on his spear, looked to the audience for their judgment.

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