cunctator

[kuhngk-tey-ter]

noun

a procrastinator; delayer.

Nearby words

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

Quintus Fabius Maximus VerrucosusCunctator, 275–203 b.c., Roman statesman and general: defeated Hannibal's army by harassment without risking a pitched battle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cunctator

Hence he received that new name, so salutary to the commonwealth, of Cunctator, or Delayer.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol. 2|Various
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.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.II.|Tobias Smollett
From pursuing this policy he received the surname of Cunctator, or the Lingerer.
A Smaller History of Rome|William Smith and Eugene Lawrence

Excellenz, it is not Cunctator Daun this time, it is fiery Loudon.
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XX. (of XXI.)|Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for cunctator

Fabius Maximus

noun

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

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