lictor

lictor

English

Alternative forms

• lictour (obsolete, rare)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin līctor.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪktə/
• Rhymes: -ɪktə(ɹ)

Noun

lictor (plural lictors)

1. An officer in ancient Rome, attendant on a consul or magistrate, who bore the fasces and was responsible for punishing criminals.
   • 1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:

     ‘Beware the power of the mob, Caesar.’ Then, schooled in needful agility, he ran away before a lictor’s whip could reach him.

Translations

officer in ancient Rome

French: licteur (fr) m German: Liktor (de) m Greek: Ancient: ῥάβδουχος m (rhábdoukhos) Italian: littore (it) m Latin: līctor m Polish: liktor (pl) m Portuguese: lictor m Spanish: lictor m Swedish: liktor c

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Latin

Etymology

From ligō (“to bind”), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ-. A likely reference to the fascis symbol and their role as a magistrates' attaché; see also ligation and liaison.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈliːk.tor/, [ˈlʲiːkt̪ɔr]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈlik.tor/, [ˈlikt̪or]

Noun

līctor m (genitive līctōris); third declension

1. lictor (officer in Ancient Rome)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	līctor	līctōrēs
Genitive	līctōris	līctōrum
Dative	līctōrī	līctōribus
Accusative	līctōrem	līctōrēs
Ablative	līctōre	līctōribus
Vocative	līctor	līctōrēs

Descendants

• English: lictor
• French: licteur
• Italian: littore
• Polish: liktor
• Spanish: lictor

References

• “lictor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “lictor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• lictor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the lictors clear the way: lictores summovent turbam (Liv. 4. 50)
    
• “lictor”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “lictor”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

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Portuguese

Noun

lictor m (plural lictores)

1. lictor (official in Ancient Rome)

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Romanian

Etymology

From Latin lictor.

Noun

lictor m (plural lictori)

1. lictor (officer in Ancient Rome)

Declension

Declension of lictor

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) lictor	lictorul	(niște) lictori	lictorii
genitive/dative	(unui) lictor	lictorului	(unor) lictori	lictorilor
vocative	lictorule		lictorilor

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Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin līctor.

Noun

lictor m (plural lictores)

1. lictor (official in Ancient Rome)

Further reading

• “lictor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014