noun An ancient defensive armor composed of scales of metal or other material sewed to a garment of leather or stuff, and covering often the whole body and the limbs, but not the head, upon which a helmet of another material was placed.
noun In zoology, the armor of plates or strong scales protecting some animals.
Fenced in; provided with bulwarks or a protecting covering; covered; protected: as, a cataphract war-galley.
Same as cataphracted.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
noun (Mil. Antiq.) Defensive armor used for the whole body and often for the horse, also, esp. the linked mail or scale armor of some eastern nations.
noun A horseman covered with a cataphract.
noun (Zoöl.) The armor or plate covering some fishes.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
noun Defensive armor used for the entirebody and often for the horse, also, especially the linked mail or scale armor of some eastern nations.
noun A horseman covered with a cataphract.
noun The armor or plate covering some fishes.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
noun armor that protects the wearer's whole body
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Ancient Greek κατάφρακτος (katáphraktos, "fully covered, protected, fully armored"); from κατά ("fully, completely") + φρακτός ("fenced, protected"), from φράσσω ("I fence/secure/fortify, I block")
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Examples
One cataphract from the clan of Lynx slipped away with his armiger, horseboy, and jack, and when he was caught the king made no more speeches of good riddance.
He spoke to one cataphract or another to give them encouragement, but he had not the ease to make other men easy, as our king did—had done, when he was alive.
It also received several blows of the sword on the face, but, wearing as it did a cataphract made of sinew, it was not hurt, nor were the blows effective.
Politicians never have lacked Opinions in absence of fact. The taunt and the gibe Are arms of the tribe And ignorance their cataphract.
To honor the spirit of kindly fellowship which ordinarily characterizes this forum I have used the generic term “politicians” in this limerick, although it is unfair to tar them all with the same brush. Readers may substitute the name of any faction they choose to give the verse more piquancy. I have one in my mind for circulation elsewhere. (It scans better too.)
qms commented on the word cataphract
Politicians never have lacked
Opinions in absence of fact.
The taunt and the gibe
Are arms of the tribe
And ignorance their cataphract.
To honor the spirit of kindly fellowship which ordinarily characterizes this forum I have used the generic term “politicians” in this limerick, although it is unfair to tar them all with the same brush. Readers may substitute the name of any faction they choose to give the verse more piquancy. I have one in my mind for circulation elsewhere. (It scans better too.)
August 24, 2015