miles gloriosus

British  

/ ˈmiːleɪs ˌɡlɔːrɪˈəʊsʊs /

noun

1. a braggart soldier, esp as a stock figure in comedy

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Etymology

Origin of miles gloriosus

from the title of a comedy by Plautus

Example Sentences

Full of the pedantry of his profession and fond of noble phrases, he is a kind of cross between Dugald Dalgetty and Ancient Pistol, with a slight relish of the miles gloriosus.

From Among My Books First Series by Lowell, James Russell

The real truth seems to be, that had Falstaff, loose and unprincipled as he is, been born a Coward and bred a Soldier, he must, naturally, have been a great Braggadocio, a true miles gloriosus.

From Eighteenth Century Essays on Shakespeare by Smith, David Nichol

The conventional characters of Plautus and Terence, the senex, the servus, the meretrix, the mango, the ancilla, the miles gloriosus, and the parasitus reappeared.

From The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the First by Gozzi, Carlo

His heroes had no scruples in proclaiming their physical advantages and athletic prowess; Charles O’Malley, that typical Galway miles gloriosus, introduces himself with ingenuous egotism in the following passage:

From Humours of Irish Life by Various

In 'Julius of Tarentum' the younger brother, Guido, is, again, the man of action; a miles gloriosus who boasts of his strong arm and dreams of glory.

From The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller by Thomas, Calvin