Pretorian

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pretorian \Pre*to"ri*an\, a. [L. praetorians: cf. F.
     pr['e]torien.]
     Of or pertaining to a pretor or magistrate; judicial;
     exercised by, or belonging to, a pretor; as, pretorian power
     or authority.
     [1913 Webster]


  
     {Pretorian bands} or {Pretorian guards}, or {Pretorians}
        (Rom. Hist.), the emperor's bodyguards, instituted by the
        Emperor Augustus in nine cohorts of 1,000 men each.
  
     {Pretorian gate} (Rom. Antiq.), that one of the four gates in
        a camp which lay next the enemy. --Brande & C.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pretorian \Pre*to"ri*an\, n.
     A soldier of the pretorian guard.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  pretorian
       adj 1: of or relating to a Roman praetor; "praetorial powers" [syn:
               {praetorian}, {praetorial}, {pretorial}]
       2: characteristic of Praetorian soldiers in respect to
          corruption or political venality; "a large praetorian
          bureaucracy filled with ambitious...and often sycophantic
          people makes work and makes trouble"- Arthur M.Schlesinger
          Jr. [syn: {praetorian}]