cestus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an ancient Greek or Roman fighting glove made of leather strips and sometimes weighted with metal

   The sculpture depicts a boxer with a cestus bound around each hand.

2. 2
   noun

   an ancient girdle or belt, especially the love-inspiring girdle of Aphrodite or Venus

   The poem compares the jeweled sash to the cestus of Venus.

Two classical words converged in English. The girdle is from Latin cestus, from Greek kestos, 'stitched or embroidered,' from kentein, 'to prick.' The fighting glove is from Latin caestus or cestus, probably related to caedere, 'to strike.'

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