cestus

[ ses-tuhs ]

/ ˈsɛs təs /

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noun, plural ces·ti

[ses-tahy]. /ˈsɛs taɪ/.

a girdle or belt, especially as worn by women of ancient Greece.

Classical Mythology. the girdle of Venus, decorated with every object that could arouse amorous desire.

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Also especially British, ces·tos .

Origin of cestus

1570–80; <Latin <Greek kestós a girdle, literally, (something) stitched, equivalent to kes- (variant stem of kenteîn to stitch; see center) + -tos verbal adjective suffix

Words nearby cestus

c'est la vie, Cestoda, cestode, cestoid, Cestoidea, cestus, cesura, cet-, CETA, Cetacaine, cetacean

Other definitions for cestus (2 of 2)

cestus²

[ ses-tuhs ]

/ ˈsɛs təs /

noun, plural ces·tus·es.Roman Antiquity.

a hand covering made of leather strips and often covered with metal studs, worn by boxers.

Origin of cestus

1725–35; <Latin cestus,caestus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cestus in a sentence

She said, and loosed from her bosom the embroidered, variegated cestus; 468 where all allurements were enclosed.
The Iliad of Homer (1873)|Homer
Jupiter might as soon keep awake, when Juno came in best bib and tucker, and with the cestus of Venus, to get him to sleep.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 75, January, 1864|Various
Venus, goddess of beauty, is represented either entirely naked, or with some scanty drapery called a “cestus.”
Myths of Greece and Rome|H. A. Guerber
Controversy with boxing is the cestus, that is, the lead-loaded glove, like the pugilists in the Æneid.
Anima Poet|Samuel Taylor Coleridge

He cared no more either for the prowess of two combatants who, wearing a cestus on the left arm, fought with sticks.
The Works of Theophile Gautier, Volume 5|Theophile Gautier

British Dictionary definitions for cestus (1 of 2)

cestus¹

cestos (ˈsɛstɒs)

/ (ˈsɛstəs) /

noun

classical myth the girdle of Aphrodite (Venus) decorated to cause amorousness

Word Origin for cestus

C16: from Latin, from Greek kestos belt, from kentein to stitch

British Dictionary definitions for cestus (2 of 2)

cestus²

caestus

/ (ˈsɛstəs) /

noun plural -tus or -tuses

(in classical Roman boxing) a pugilist's gauntlet of bull's hide loaded or studded with metal

Word Origin for cestus

C18: from Latin caestus, probably from caedere to strike, slay

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