LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

gladius

gladius m (genitive gladiī or gladī)
Classical[ˈɡɫa.di.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈɡlaː.di.us]
№ 862 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinesword
    Mitte gladium in vaginam.Put the sword into its sheath.
    in gladium incumbereto fall on one's sword
  2. figurativelymasculinemurder, death
  3. masculinea gladiatorial contest
  4. masculineswordfish

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

ferrum breve et acūtum, quō mīles pugnat.
gladius -ī m — in Mille Verba, Bellum et Arma

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Gladius · Ensis · Pugio · Sica

1. Gladius (from κλάδος) is the usual, ensis (from ansa?) the select and poetical name for a sword. Quintil. x. 1, 11. (v. 188.) 2. Pugio (from pungere) is a dagger, as a fair and openly used soldier’s weapon, on a level with the sword; whereas sica (from secare) is the unfair and secret weapon of the bandit, on a level with poison. (vi. 291.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativegladiusgladiī
genitivegladiī
gladī		gladiōrum
dativegladiōgladiīs
accusativegladiumgladiōs
ablativegladiōgladiīs
vocativegladiegladiī

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

res ad gladios vēnit
swords must now decide the day.
gladium educere (e vagīna)
to draw one's sword (from the scabbard).
gladius cervicibus impendet
a sword hangs over his neck.
res gladiis geri coepta est
swords must now decide the day.
gladium in vaginam recondere
to sheath one's sword.
gladium stringere, destringere
to draw one's sword.
omissis pilis gladiis rem gerere
to throw down the javelins (pila) and fight with the sword.
strictis gladiis in hostem ferri
to throw oneself on the enemy with drawn sword.
4 more phrases
gladium alicui in pectus infigere
to plunge one's sword in some one's breast.
eminus hastis, comminus gladiis uti
to use javelins at a distance, swords at close quarters.
gladio comminus (opp. eminus) rem gerere
to fight with swords at close quarters.
gladio aliquem per pectus transfigere (Liv. 2. 46)
to transfix, pierce a man's breast with one's sword.

glădĭus, ĭi, m. (also archaic glă-dĭum, ii, n., Lucil. ap. Non. 208, 13; cf. Varr. L. L. 9, § 81 Müll.; Quint. 1, 5, 16; v. gladiola under gladiolus, I.) [perh. akin to clades, cardo; cf. κλαδάσαι, to brandish],
I. a sword (syn. the poet. ensis, acc. to Quint. 10, 1, 11; cf. also: spatha, acinaces, sica, pugio).
I. Lit.: arripuit gladium, Plaut. Capt. 4, 4, 7; id. Cas. 2, 4, 28: eripite isti gladium, quae sui est impos animi, id. Cas. 3, 5, 9: succincti gladiis media regione cracentes, Enn. ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 53 Müll. (Ann. v. 497 Vahl.): contecti gladiis, id. ap. Philarg. ad Verg. G. 4, 230 (Ann. v. 415 ib.): occursat ocius gladio comminusque rem gerit Varenus, Caes. B. G. 5, 44, 11: pila miserunt, celeriterque gladios strinxerunt, drew, id. B. C. 3, 93, 1: gladium stringere, Cic. Phil. 2, 9, 21; Verg. A. 12, 278: destringere, Caes. B. G. 1, 25, 2; 7, 12 fin.; id. B. C. 1, 46, 1; 1, 47, 3; Cic. Off. 3, 31, 112; id. Cat. 3, 1, 2; Liv. 27, 13, 9 et saep.: educere, Caes. B. G. 5, 44, 8; Cic. Att. 4, 3, 3; Sall. C. 51, 36; cf.: educere e vagina, Cic. Inv. 2, 4, 14: nudare, Ov. F. 2, 693: recondere in vaginam, Cic. Inv. 2, 4, 14; cf. condere, Quint. 8 praef. § 15: xiphion gladi praebet speciem, Plin. 25, 11, 89, § 138.—
b. Prov.
(a). Suo sibi hunc gladio jugulo, fight him with his own weapons, Ter. Ad. 5, 8, 35; cf. the same, Cic. Caecin. 29, 82.—
(b). Cum illum (Clodium) plumbeo gladio jugulatum iri tamen diceret (Hortensius), i. e. with very little trouble, Cic. Att. 1, 16, 2. —
(g). Ignem gladio scrutare, stir the fire with a sword (= πῦρ μαχαίρᾳ σκαλεύειν, Pythag. ap. Diog. Laert. 8, 17), Hor. S. 2, 3, 276.—
(d). Gladium alicui dare qui se occidat, to give one the means of ruining himself, Plaut. Trin. 1, 2, 92.—
II. Transf.
A. Murder, death: cum tanta praesertim gladiorum sit impunitas, Cic. Phil. 1, 11, 27; cf. id. Fam. 10, 2, 1; Vell. 2, 3, 3; 2, 125, 2; gladiorum licentia, Cic. Fam. 4, 9 fin.; id. 2, 22, 2: qui universas provincias regunt, jus gladii habent, i. e. the power of life and death, Dig. 1, 18, 6, § 8: potestas gladii, ib. 2, 1, 3; Capitol. Gord. 9.—
B. A gladiatorial combat: qui cum maxime dubitat, utrum se ad gladium locet an ad cultrum, Sen. Ep. 87 med.: comparare homines ad gladium, Lact. 6, 12 fin.: servus ad gladium vel ad bestias vel in metallum damnatus, Dig. 29, 2, 25.—
C. Gladius vomeris, a ploughshare, Plin. 18, 18, 48, § 172.—
D. The sword-fish, also called xiphias (ξιφίας), Plin. 9, 2, 1, § 3; 9, 15, 21, § 54; 32, 11, 53, § 145.

Origins

Possibly from Gaulish *kladyos (“sword”), from Proto-Celtic *kladiwos (“sword”) (compare Old Irish claideb (“sword”), Welsh cleddyf (“sword”) from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂- (“to beat, break”)). Cognate with Latin clādēs, clāva, percellō.

Borrowings
  • Englishgladius
  • Italiangladio
  • Portuguesegládio
  • Spanishgladio
  • Romaniangladium
  • Dutchgladius
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanesglaifrom Old Catalan glay
  • Frenchglaifrom Old French glai
  • Franco-Provençalglaio
  • Auvergnatglasifrom Old Occitan glai
  • Limousinglaizefrom Old Occitan glai
Italo-Romance
  • Italianghiado
  • Italianglave
  • Neapolitanjajo
Gallo-Italic
  • Old Ligurianiao
  • Old Lombardgiaio
  • Piedmontesesgiái

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesGladiusGladius (ξίφος, poet. ἄορ, φάσγανον), a sword or glaive, by the Latin poets called ensis. The oldest Greek swords were of course of bronze, the one al…

Quick answers

What does gladius mean in Latin?
gladius, a noun, means “sword; murder, death; a gladiatorial contest”.
What is the genitive of gladius?
The genitive singular is gladiī. gladius is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce gladius?
In classical Latin, [ˈɡɫa.di.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈɡlaː.di.us].