Meanings
plural plumbatae
- historicalA lead-weighted dart, used by soldiers in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
"These plumbata make marching difficult," he complained to Claudius, who was marching beside him.
2016, Rexford Walker, Strike of Venus, →ISBN1 more example
The plumbata was an ancient Roman version of the lawn dart—a weighted projectile with a sharp point that was lobbed underhanded toward its target. And like the lawn dart, the plumbata killed its share of people. […] A typical Roman legionary could carry up to four plumbata inside his shield, […]
2013, John O'Bryan, A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up, Chronicle Books, →ISBN, page 68
Origin
- Latinplumbāta
- Englishplumbata
From Latin plumbāta.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
plumbata. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plumbata
“plumbata.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plumbata. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “plumbata,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plumbata.
Source: plumbata on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.