noun · masculinefirst declension
lanista
lanista m (genitive lanistae)
Classical[ɫaˈnɪs.ta]Ecclesiastical[laˈnis.ta]
Meaning
- masculinea trainer or manager of a team of gladiators
80 BCE, Cicero, Pro Roscio Amerino 40.118
68 BCE – 44 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 1.16.3
- figurativelymasculinean inciter, instigator (someone who stimulates to violence)
44 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Philippicae 13.19.40
27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 35.33.6
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | lanista | lanistae |
| genitive | lanistae | lanistārum |
| dative | lanistae | lanistīs |
| accusative | lanistam | lanistās |
| ablative | lanistā | lanistīs |
| vocative | lanista | lanistae |
lănista, ae, m.,
I. a trainer of gladiators, fencing-master (class.; cf.: gladiator, athleta, pugil).
I. Lit.:
num ille lanista omnino jam a gladiatore recessisse videtur, Cic. Rosc. Am. 40, 118: reus, tamquam clemens lanista, id. Att. 1, 16, 3: regia verba lanistae, Juv. 11, 8: circumforaneus, Suet. Vit. 12: lanistarum familias ex urbe expellere, id. Aug. 42; Juv. 6, 215.—So of fowls: rixosarum avium, Col. 8, 2, 5.—II. Transf., an inciter, instigator, agitator; one who stimulates to wrong or violence:
hic se ad eum lanistam contulit, Cic. Rosc. Am. 6, 17: ne videret unius corporis duas acies, lanista Cicerone, dimicantes. Ego lanista? Cic. Phil. 13, 19, 40: lanistis Aetolis dimicare, Liv. 35, 33, 6.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
lanista ae, m
a trainer of gladiators, fencingmaster: clemens: regia verba lanistae, Iu.—An inciter, instigator, agitator, ringleader: acies, lanistā Cicerone, dimicantes: lanistis Aetolis dimicare, L.
Origins
According to Isidore, a borrowing from Etruscan [Term?], and also derived from the verb laniō (see also lanius (“butcher”)). Ernout and Meillet view the -a ending as supporting an Etruscan origin. However, De Vaan suggests an Indo-European etymology for lanius (“butcher”) and questions the Etruscan origin of this word family.