LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

gladiātor

gladiātor m (genitive gladiātōris, feminine gladiātrīx)
Classical[ɡɫa.diˈaː.tɔr]Ecclesiastical[ɡla.diˈaː.tor]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. gladiator, swordsman
  2. figurativelya term of reproach for someone who behaves violently in the manner of a gladiator; a murderer, cutthroat, assassin
    Ego, sī hoc optimum factū iūdicārem, Patrēs Cōnscrīptī, Catilīnam morte multārī, ūnīus ūsūram hōrae gladiātōrī istī ad vīvendum nōn dedissem.If I judged that it was the best course of action, Conscript Fathers, to punish Catiline with death, I would not have granted to that gladiator of yours a single hour of life. (Cicero’s provocative implication: like an audience viewing a gladiatorial combat, the Roman senators have done nothing to stop Catiline, despite their awareness of his violent threats and actions.)63 BCE, Cicero, In Catilinam orationes 1.29

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī in harēnā gladiō prō spectāculō pugnat.
gladiātor -ōris m — in Mille Verba, ch. Lūdī et Ōtium

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativegladiātorgladiātōrēs
gladiātrīcēs
genitivegladiātōris
gladiātrīcis		gladiātōrum
gladiātrīcum
dativegladiātōrī
gladiātrīcī		gladiātōribus
gladiātrīcibus
accusativegladiātōrem
gladiātrīcem		gladiātōrēs
gladiātrīcēs
ablativegladiātōre
gladiātrīce		gladiātōribus
gladiātrīcibus
vocativegladiātorgladiātōrēs
gladiātrīcēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

gladiatores dare
to give a gladiatorial show.
gladiatoribus (Att. 2. 19. 3)
at the gladiatorial games.

glădĭātor, ōris, m. gladius; cf. digladior,
I. a swordsman, fighter in the public games, a gladiator (cf.: lanista, mirmillo, secutor, retiarius, bestiarius, pugil, athleta).
I. Lit.: athletae et gladiatores, Cic. Or. 68, 228: gladiatorum spectaculum, id. Tusc. 2, 17, 41: ut emat gladiatores, id. Sull. 19, 55: ut gladiatoribus imperari solet, id. Sest. 37, 80: nobiles, id. Phil. 3, 14, 35: tam bonus gladiator rudem tam cito accepisti, id. ib. 2, 29, 74: quis tota Italia veneficus, quis gladiator, quis latro, quis sicarius, etc., id. Cat. 2, 4, 7.—As a term of reproach: Gracchorum potentiam majorem fuisse arbitramini quam hujus gladiatoris (i. e. Antonii) futura sit? Cic. Phil. 5, 12, 32; 7, 6, 17; Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 62, § 146: vetus proverbium est, gladiatorem in arena capere consilium, Sen. Ep. 22, 1: (gladiatorum) emptio et venditio, an locatio et conductio, Gai. Inst. 3, 146.—
B. Transf., in plur., a combat of gladiators, gladiatorial exhibition: rumor venit datum iri gladiatores; populus convolat, Ter. Hec. prol. alt. 32; Cic. Sest. 64, 133 and 135; Suet. Tit. 7: edere, id. Aug. 45; id. Dom. 4: edendis gladiatoribus praesedit, Tac. A. 1, 76: locum gladiatoribus dare, Cic. Att. 2, 1, 5; id. Phil. 9, 7, 16; abl. absol.: gladiatoribus, at a show of gladiators, id. ib. 2, 19, 3; cf.: ut Romam vitet gladiatoribus, Lucil. ap. Non. 165, 14; Asin. Poll. ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 32, 3; cf.: gladiatores, quod spectaculum inter epulas erat, eo ornatu armarunt (Campani), etc., Liv. 9, 40, 17.—*
II. A swordcutler: carpentarii, scandularii, gladiatores, aquilices, tubarii, etc., Dig. 50, 6, 6.

Origins

Derived from either gladiō (“to use the sword”) + -tor (“-tor”) or gladior (“to use the sword”) + -tor (“-tor”). The verb gladiāre/gladiārī is attested only indirectly from derived forms such as gladiātor, ars gladiandī or, in an inscription, gladiantēs.

Descendants
  • Catalangladiador
  • Englishgladiator
  • Frenchgladiateur
  • Romaniangladiatorfrom French gladiateur
  • GermanGladiator
  • Italiangladiatore
  • Portuguesegladiador
  • Spanishgladiador
  • Albaniangladiator
  • Belarusianгладыя́тар

Quick answers

What does gladiātor mean in Latin?
gladiātor, a noun, means “gladiator, swordsman; a term of reproach for someone who behaves violently in the manner of a gladiator; a murderer, cutthroat, assassin”.
What is the genitive of gladiātor?
The genitive singular is gladiātōris. gladiātor is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce gladiātor?
In classical Latin, [ɡɫa.diˈaː.tɔr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ɡla.diˈaː.tor].