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cestus

1
[ses-tuh s]
noun, plural ces·ti [ses-tahy] /ˈsɛs taɪ/.
  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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Also especially British, ces·tos.

Origin of cestus

1
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

cestus

2
[ses-tuh s]
noun, plural ces·tus·es. Roman Antiquity.
  1. a hand covering made of leather strips and often covered with metal studs, worn by boxers.
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Origin of cestus

2
1725–35; < Latin cestus, caestus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cestus

Historical Examples of cestus

  • Venus has lent her her cestus, and shares with her the attendance of the Graces.

    The History of Emily Montague

    Frances Brooke

  • Her cestus or girdle holds all the magic of passion, and is borrowed even by Hera when she wishes to win her fickle lord.

  • Tom has been a sailor—a coal heaver—and some other genteel profession, before he took to the cestus.

  • Cestus, ses′tus, n. the girdle of Venus, which had power to awaken love: an ancient boxing-glove loaded with lead or iron.

  • This cestus was a fine parti-coloured girdle, which, as Homer tells us, had all the attractions of the sex wrought into it.

British Dictionary definitions for cestus

cestus

1

cestos (ˈsɛstɒs)

noun
  1. classical myth the girdle of Aphrodite (Venus) decorated to cause amorousness
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Word Origin for cestus

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

cestus

2

caestus

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