gladiusn.
/ˈɡleɪdɪəs/ 1. A sword.Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1873 J. H. Burton Hist. Scotl. to 1688 I. i. 8 Charge them with the gladius.
2. The sword-fish (so called by Pliny).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Scombroidei (mackerel) > [noun] > family Xiphiidae (swordfish) > xiphias gladius (swordfish)
swordfishc1400
gladius?1527
xiph1572
monoceros1590
xiphias1590
sea-emperor1672
rapier-fish1681
xiphiad1859
?1527 L. Andrewe tr. Noble Lyfe Bestes sig. riiii v Gladius is a fisshe so named because he is mouthed after the fascyon of a sworde poynt.
3. Anatomy. ‘The horny endoskeleton or pen of cuttle-fishes’ ( New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon 1885).
ΚΠ
1872 H. A. Nicholson Man. Palæontol. 295 Dibranchiate Cephalopods.—Fam. 3. Teuthidæ.—Shell consisting of an internal horny ‘pen’ or ‘gladius’, composed of a central shaft and two lateral wings.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.?1527