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Tarpeia

American  
[tahr-pee-uh] / tɑrˈpi ə /

noun

Classical Mythology.
  1. a vestal virgin who betrayed Rome to the Sabines and was crushed under their shields when she claimed a reward.


Tarpeia British  
/ tɑːˈpiːə /

noun

  1. (in Roman legend) a vestal virgin, who betrayed Rome to the Sabines and was killed by them when she requested a reward

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Everything took place as arranged, except that the misguided Tarpeia received much more than she had bargained for.

From Roman Women by Brittain, Alfred

Tarpeia, the daughter of the captain of the guard, watched eagerly the Sabine captains, and saw the gleam of the ornaments they wore.

From The Childhood of Rome by Lamprey, Louise

Coming from the mouth of the perjured Tarpeia they were of course winged with point unmistakable.

From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume I by Summers, Montague

But, according to the legend, they could not have won such advantage had it not been for the love of gaud of Tarpeia, the daughter of one of the captains of Romulus.

From Roman Women by Brittain, Alfred

By the very super-abundance of his excellencies, his usefulness is destroyed; just as Tarpeia sank, buried beneath the presents of the Sabine soldiery.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No 3, September, 1862 Devoted to Literature and National Policy. by Various

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