retiary

adj, noun — 5 senses

adj

UK /ˈɹiːʃɪəɹi/ · /ˈɹiʃiˌɛɹi/

Etymology Compare Latin retiarius.

net-like

And, beside this kind of work in retiary and hanging textures1658, Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus:

Archaic Constructing or using a web, or net, to catch prey; said of certain spiders.

Armed with a net; hence, skilful at entangling.

c. 1810-1820, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Notes on Jeremy Taylor scholastic retiary versatility of logic

noun

Etymology Compare Latin retiarius.

Biology, Natural sciences, Zoology Any spider that spins webs to catch its prey.

Historical A retiarius: a gladiator who fought with a net.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.