cestus

¹ American  

[ses-tuhs] / ˈsɛs təs /

especially British, cestos

noun

plural

cesti

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

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

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cestus ² American  

[ses-tuhs] / ˈsɛs təs /

noun

Roman Antiquity.

plural

cestuses

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

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cestus ¹ British  

/ ˈsɛstəs, ˈsɛstɒs /

noun

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

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cestus ² British  

/ ˈsɛstəs /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of cestus¹

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

Origin of cestus²

1725–35; < Latin cestus, caestus

Example Sentences

They were the Army's cestus in punch after armed punch on the slogging road across North Africa, in the invasions of Sicily and Italy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Pelagia’s tip to Hypatia’s father was the dancer’s cestus, which was jewelled with precious stones enough to stock the shop of a Bond Street jeweller of our own time.

From The Idler Magazine, Volume III., July 1893 An Illustrated Monthly by Various

Good taste is indispensable in dress, but that, united to neatness, is all that is necessary—that is the fabled cestus of Venus which gave beauty to its wearer.

From How To Behave: A Pocket Manual Of Republican Etiquette, And Guide To Correct Personal Habits Embracing An Exposition Of The Principles Of Good Manners; Useful Hints On The Care Of The Person, Eating, Drinking, Exercise, Habits, Dress, Self-Culture, And Behavior At Home; The Etiquette Of Salutations, Introductions, Receptions, Visits, Dinners, Evening Parties, Conversation, Letters, Presents, Weddings, Funerals, The Street, The Church, Places Of Amusement, Traveling, Etc., With Illustrative Anecdotes, a Chapter on Love and Courtship, and Rules of Order for Debating Societies by Wells, Samuel R. (Samuel Roberts)

They do not, however, appear to have used the cestus, nor to have known the art of boxing; though in one group, at Beni Hassan, the combatants appear to strike each other.

From Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life by Haines, T. L. (Thomas Louis)

From her waist fell a golden net-work, like a cestus, with little golden tassels all round.

From Music-Study in Germany from the Home Correspondence of Amy Fay by Fay, Amy