plumbata

English

Etymology

From Latin plumbāta.

Noun

plumbata (plural plumbatae or plumbata)

  1. (historical) A lead-weighted dart, used by soldiers in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
    • 2013, John O'Bryan, A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up, Chronicle Books, →ISBN, page 68:
      The plumbata was an ancient Roman version of the lawn dart—a weighted projectile with a sharp point that was lobbed underhanded toward its target. And like the lawn dart, the plumbata killed its share of people. […] A typical Roman legionary could carry up to four plumbata inside his shield, […]
    • 2016, Rexford Walker, Strike of Venus, →ISBN:
      "These plumbata make marching difficult," he complained to Claudius, who was marching beside him.

Latin

Participle

plumbāta

  1. inflection of plumbātus:
    1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
    2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Participle

plumbātā

  1. ablative feminine singular of plumbātus
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