LICTOR

Lictor

The lictor was a member of a special class of Roman civil servant, with special tasks of attending and guarding magistrates of the Roman Republic and Empire who held imperium, the right and power to command; essentially, a bodyguard. The origin of the tradition of lictors goes back to the time when Rome was a kingdom, perhaps acquired from their Etruscan neighbours.

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lictor

Noun

  1. An officer in ancient Rome, attendant on a consul or magistrate, who bore the fasces and was responsible for punishing criminals.
    • 1985: ‘Beware the power of the mob, Caesar.’ Then, schooled in needful agility, he ran away before a lictor’s whip could reach him. — Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: lictor
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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