equites

American

[ek-wi-teez] / ˈɛk wɪˌtiz /

plural noun

Roman History.

mounted military units; cavalry.
members of a specially privileged class derived from the ancient Roman cavalry and having status intermediate between those of senatorial rank and the common people.

equites British

/ ˈɛkwɪˌtiːz /

plural noun

the cavalry
Also called: knights. members of a social order distinguished by wealth and ranking just below the senators

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of equites

< Latin, plural of eques horseman, derivative of equus horse

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The April tariff-ignited market rout reverberated across equites and fixed-income markets.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Economically, this mechanism is not unlike other repo financing markets with risky underlying collateral, such as equites or mortgage-backed securities.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 6, 2025

“We advise to equites and bonds — assets that have earnings,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 11, 2025

The term equites, originally confined to the purely military equestrian centuries of Servius Tullius, now came to be applied to all who possessed the property qualification of 400,000 sesterces.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 7 "Equation" to "Ethics" by Various

For instance, take the word "equites," which follows "equinox" in the encyclopedia.

From Of All Things by Benchley, Robert C.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023