lictor

American  

[lik-ter] / ˈlɪk tər /

noun

1. (in ancient Rome) one of a body of attendants on chief magistrates, who preceded them carrying the fasces and whose duties included executing the sentences of criminals.

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lictor British  

/ ˈlɪktə /

noun

1. one of a group of ancient Roman officials, usually bearing fasces, who attended magistrates, etc

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Other Word Forms

• lictorian
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of lictor

1580–90; < Latin; compare Middle English littoures

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lictor

He might assume Lincoln had been a lictor, a Roman official who served as a sort of bodyguard to elected magistrates.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 1, 2022

They have haled him from the Court-house, And have locked him up below; And the lictor guards the pewter, With its head of froth like snow.

From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various

Let the lictor be the dispenser of your clemency, not his own; and let the fasces and axes which they carry before you constitute ensigns rather of rank than of power.

From The Letters of Cicero, Volume 1 The Whole Extant Correspodence in Chronological Order by Evelyn S. Shuckburgh

He being repulsed, such of the fathers as attended the consuls, exclaiming against it as an intolerable insult, ran in a hurry from the tribunal to assist the lictor.

From The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Titus Livius

Thy lictor shall not lay his hands upon me!

From Virginia, A Tragedy And Other Poems by Marion Forster Gilmore

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