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Today it means

gladiator

a man trained to fight in Roman arenas

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Where does the word "gladiator" come from? It comes from Latin gladiator, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

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Where does the word "gladiator" come from? It comes from Latin gladiator, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

Gladiator’s story begins in Latin: gladiator meant “swordsman.” From 'gladius', sword, the root of 'gladiolus'. It reached English by 1500s as gladiator. The film 'Gladiator' came out in 2000. Today, gladiator means a man trained to fight in Roman arenas.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient gladiator "swordsman", from 'gladius', sword, the root of 'gladiolus'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1500s gladiator "swordsman", the film 'Gladiator' came out in 2000.

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