velites
Britishplural noun
Etymology
Origin of velites
C17: from Latin, pl of vēles light-armed foot soldier; related to volāre to fly
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.
Ladders had been placed beforehand in this passage against the wall of cliff; and, protected by the windings of the gaps, the velites were able to seize and mount them before being overtaken.
From Salammbo by Flaubert, Gustave
They were the light troops of the grand army of Democracy, the velites who skirmished in front of the legions.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 18, April, 1859 by Various
To avoid infection, the corpses of the velites had been speedily buried; and the position of the graves was no longer visible.
From Salammbo by Flaubert, Gustave
You ought to have made your ranks twice as deep, avoided exposing the velites against the phalanx, and given free passage to the elephants.
From Salammbo by Flaubert, Gustave
The new territories furnished cavalry, better and more numerous than the old equites, and light troops of various kinds to replace the velites.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
