lictor

== English == === Alternative forms === lictour (obsolete, rare) === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin līctor. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈlɪktə/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈlɪktɚ/ Rhymes: -ɪktə(ɹ) === Noun === lictor (plural lictors) An officer in Ancient Rome, attendant on a consul or magistrate, who bore the fasces and was responsible for punishing criminals. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== == Catalan == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin līctor. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Northern) [likˈtu] IPA(key): (Balearic, Central, Northwestern) [likˈto] IPA(key): (Valencia) [likˈtoɾ] === Noun === lictor m (plural lictors) lictor (an official in Ancient Rome) === Further reading === “lictor”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007 “lictor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. “lictor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026 Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “lictor”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan) == Latin == === Etymology === Possibly from the same root as ligō, ligāre, ligāvī, ligātus (“to bind”). In this case, the reference might be to the fascis symbol and their role as a magistrates' attaché; see also ligation and liaison. The long vowel would be the result of Lachmann's law, as in āctor from agō. Aulus Gellius writes that Valgius Rufus derived līctor from ligandō, whereas Tiro Tullius, a freedman of Cicero, derived it from līcium. The same root has been dubiously connected to religiō. On the basis of the Albanian lidh (“to bind, tie”), the root is reconstructed as Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ-, although the lack of other certain cognates makes it uncertain. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈliːk.tɔr] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈlik.tor] Gellius states that the vowel in the first syllable is long. === Noun === līctor m (genitive līctōris, feminine līctrīx); third declension lictor (an officer in Ancient Rome) ==== Declension ==== Third-declension noun. ==== Descendants ==== English: lictor French: licteur Italian: littore Polish: liktor Spanish: lictor === References === === Further reading === “lictor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “lictor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers “lictor”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette. Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co. “lictor”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers “lictor”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin == Portuguese == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin līctor. === Pronunciation === Rhymes: (Brazil) -oʁ, (Portugal) -oɾ Hyphenation: lic‧tor === Noun === lictor m (plural lictores) (history) lictor (An official, carrying a hatchet wrapped in a bundle of sticks, who preceded the consuls or the dictator, in ancient Rome.) === Further reading === “lictor”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “lictor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin līctor. === Noun === lictor m (plural lictori) lictor (an officer in Ancient Rome) ==== Declension ==== == Spanish == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin līctor. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /liɡˈtoɾ/ [liɣ̞ˈt̪oɾ] Rhymes: -oɾ Syllabification: lic‧tor === Noun === lictor m (plural lictores) lictor (an official in Ancient Rome) === Further reading === “lictor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025