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cunctator

[kuhngk-tey-ter]
noun
  1. a procrastinator; delayer.
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Origin of cunctator

1645–55; < Latin, equivalent to cunctā(rī) to delay + -tor -tor
Related formscunc·ta·tor·ship, noun

Fabius Maximus

[fey-bee-uh s mak-suh-muh s]
noun
  1. Quintus Fabius Maximus VerrucosusCunctator, 275–203 b.c., Roman statesman and general: defeated Hannibal's army by harassment without risking a pitched battle.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cunctator

Historical Examples of cunctator

  • Excellenz, it is not Cunctator Daun this time, it is fiery Loudon.

    History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XX. (of XXI.)

    Thomas Carlyle

  • From pursuing this policy he received the surname of Cunctator, or the Lingerer.

    A Smaller History of Rome

    William Smith and Eugene Lawrence

  • Cunctator, a name given to Fabius Maximus on account of the tantalising tactics he adopted to wear out his adversary Hannibal.

    The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

    Edited by Rev. James Wood

  • He was justly compared to Fabius Maximus, distinguished by the epithet of Cunctator.

  • Hence he received that new name, so salutary to the commonwealth, of Cunctator, or Delayer.

British Dictionary definitions for cunctator

Fabius Maximus

noun
  1. full name Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, called Cunctator (the delayer). died 203 bc, Roman general and statesman. As commander of the Roman army during the Second Punic War, he withstood Hannibal by his strategy of harassing the Carthaginians while avoiding a pitched battle
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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