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cataphract.

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.

10 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈkætəfɹækt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈkætəˌfɹækt/General-American[ˈkæɾə-]General-American
  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
  2. An outer covering of some fish resembling armour or plate.

    broadly · obsolete
Where this word comes from

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).

adj/ˈkætəfɹækt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈkætəˌfɹækt/General-American[ˈkæɾə-]General-American
  1. Of a galley such as a trireme: with the upper tier of rowers shielded rather than exposed.

    historical
Where this word comes from

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.

noun/ˈkætəfɹækt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈkætəˌfɹækt/General-American[ˈkæɾə-]General-American
  1. A soldier (especially a horseman) covered with a cataphract (etymology 1, sense 1).

    historical
  2. A galley with the upper tier of rowers shielded.

Where this word comes from

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.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.