[1575–85; ‹ L cataphractus fully armored ‹ Gk katáphraktos (akin to kataphrássein to clothe fully in armor), equiv. to kata- cata- + phraktós fenced, protectively clothed (phrag- fence + -tos verbal adj. suffix)]This word is first recorded in the period 1575–85. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: cusp, energy, snug, stripper, subaltern