What does "cataphract" mean?
Defensive armour covering the entire body of a soldier and often the soldier's horse as well, especially the linked mail or scale armour of some eastern nations.
Cataphract
/ˈkætəfɹækt/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Defensive armour covering the entire body of a soldier and often the soldier's horse as well, especially the linked mail or scale armour of some eastern nations.
- Grammar: cataphract is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: body armor, body armour, coat of mail, suit of armor.
- Usage evidence: Those fighting before the standards, around the standards and (otherwise) in the front line were called principes [i.e. the centurions and the other under-officers]. This was the heavy armament, which had helmets, cataphracts, greaves, shields, large swords called spathae, and other smaller swords called semispathia, [...]
How to use "cataphract"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cataphract" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cataphract" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cataphract" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cataphract" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "body armor" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Defensive armour covering the entire body of a soldier and often the soldier's horse as well, especially the linked mail or scale armour of some eastern nations. historical
"Those fighting before the standards, around the standards and (otherwise) in the front line were called principes [i.e. the centurions and the other under-officers]. This was the heavy armament, which had helmets, cataphracts, greaves, shields, large swords called spathae, and other smaller swords called semispathia, [...]"
- 2 A soldier (especially a horseman) covered with a cataphract (etymology 1, sense 1). historical
"He who lookes you in the face, ſaith he ſees you, though the reſt of your bodie be within your cloathes, and if you, being an ὁωλομάχος a cataphract in your proteſtantiſh πανοπλία [panoplía, suit of armour] should for fear pull downe your beuer before you come into the liſt, your Aduerſarie for all that might light vpon your ( ) vnleſſe you bring with you Giges his ring, ſo to make your ſelf inuiſible; [...]"
- 3 armor that protects the wearer's whole body wordnet
- 4 An outer covering of some fish resembling armour or plate. broadly, obsolete
- 5 A galley with the upper tier of rowers shielded.
Adjective
- 1 Of a galley such as a trireme: with the upper tier of rowers shielded rather than exposed. historical
"And first we must call attention to the fact that two classes of vessels appear to have been employed, distinguished by the name of "Aphract," unfenced, or "Cataphract," fenced, according as the rowers of the upper tier were protected or exposed. Both classes were decked and floored, but the "Aphract" class carried their decks and flooring lower than the "Cataphract," so that in them the rowers of the upper tier were visible above the side of the vessel; [...] [F]rom the time of the invention by the Thasians of this system, all the larger vessels of war used by both Greeks and Romans were Cataphract. In the Cataphract trireme, the space allowed for each oarsman was, according to [B.] Graser, eight square feet per man, and this proportion was observed in the larger vessels up to the octireme."
Synonyms
All synonyms body armorbody armourcoat of mailsuit of armorsuit of armour
Example
"Those fighting before the standards, around the standards and (otherwise) in the front line were called principes [i.e. the centurions and the other under-officers]. This was the heavy armament, which had helmets, cataphracts, greaves, shields, large swords called spathae, and other smaller swords called semispathia, [...]"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cataphract"?
Common synonyms include: body armor, body armour, coat of mail, suit of armor, suit of armour.
How do you use "cataphract" in a sentence?
Those fighting before the standards, around the standards and (otherwise) in the front line were called principes [i.e. the centurions and the other under-officers]. This was the heavy armament, which had helmets, cataphracts, greaves, shields, large swords called spathae, and other smaller swords called semispathia, [...]
How do you pronounce "cataphract"?
Pronounced /ˈkætəfɹækt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Latin cataphractes (“suit of armour”), from Ancient Greek κατάφρακτος (katáphraktos, “suit of armour”), from κατα- (kata-, prefix indicating a great degree or intensity) + φρακτός (phraktós, “protected; fenced in”) (from φράσσω (phrássō, “to fortify, secure; to fence in”)) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being).
Etymology 2
The adjective is derived from Ancient Greek κατάφρακτος (katáphraktos, “covered, enclosed, shut up; completely suited in armour”), from καταφράσσειν (kataphrássein, “to suit in armour”) (see further at etymology 1) + -τος (-tos, “suffix forming adjectives”). The noun is derived from Latin cataphractus (“wearing armour, mailed”), from Ancient Greek κατάφρακτος (katáphraktos, “covered, enclosed, shut up; completely suited in armour”); see above.