naumachia

American  

[naw-mey-kee-uh] / nɔˈmeɪ ki ə /

noun

plural

naumachiae, naumachias

1. a mock sea fight, given as a spectacle among the ancient Romans.

2. a place for presenting such spectacles.

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naumachia British  

/ nɔːˈmeɪkɪə, ˈnɔːməkɪ /

noun

1. a mock sea fight performed as an entertainment

2. an artificial lake used in such a spectacle

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Etymology

Origin of naumachia

1590–1600; < Latin: mock naval battle < Greek naumachía a sea fight, equivalent to naû ( s ) ship + mách ( ē ) battle, fight + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

Indeed, Tacitus writes about Claudius being forced to dispatch the imperial guard on rafts during a naumachia in A.D.

From Slate • Jan. 28, 2016

Just within this gateway is perceived an extensive naumachia, or theatre for the exhibition of sea-fights, constructed of fine masonry, and finished on the top with a large moulding wrought in the stone.

From Palestine or the Holy Land From the Earliest Period to the Present Time by Russell, Michael

The naumachia was a sea-fight, either in the arena, which was flooded for the occasion by a system of pipes and sluices, or on an artificial lake.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various

Sometimes the vast arena was flooded with water, and naumachia or sea-fights were exhibited.

From Valeria The Martyr of the Catacombs by Withrow, William Henry

One would imagine, it was with this view they instituted their naumachia, or naval engagements, performed by half a dozen small gallies of a side in an artificial basin of fresh water.

From Travels through France and Italy by Smollett, T. (Tobias)