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Tarpeian Rock

American  
[tahr-pee-uhn] / tɑrˈpi ən /

noun

  1. a rock on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, from which criminals and traitors were hurled.


Tarpeian Rock British  
/ tɑːˈpiːən /

noun

  1. (in ancient Rome) a cliff on the Capitoline hill from which traitors were hurled

"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

Etymology

Origin of Tarpeian Rock

1600–10; < Latin ( mōns ) Tarpēi ( us ) Tarpeian (hill) + -an

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:

Roman trumpet with the rattle of the sistrum, chased the Liburnian prow with a poled barge, spread her foul mosquito nets over the Tarpeian Rock, and gave judgements among Marius’ weapons and statues.

From Textbooks Apr. 19, 2023

Someone looking for bad omens might have found one in the name of the hill where it’s built, Roca Tarpeya; the Tarpeian Rock was an execution ground in ancient Rome.

From The Guardian Sep. 15, 2017

This was near the Tarpeian Rock, which afterward took her name.

From History of Julius Caesar by Abbott, Jacob

The Tarpeian Rock was a cliff on one side of the Capitoline Hill in Rome.

From Narrative and Lyric Poems (first series) for use in the Lower School by Stevenson, O. J.

For him, thirty seconds had separated the Capitol from the Tarpeian Rock.

From Georges Guynemer Knight of the Air by Sill, Louise Morgan

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