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“pollice compresso”
pollice compresso (adjective) (not comparable)
With the first thick and short digit of a person's hand folded: Interpreted to mean that if the Roman spectators wanted a losing gladiator to live, they kept their thumbs in their fists. That meant that they kept them hidden in their palms in a pollice compresso position.
This entry is located in the following units:
Latin Proverbs, Mottoes, Phrases, and Words: Group P
(page 5)
pollex
(page 1)
press-, presso-, pressi-, -prim-, -prin-
(page 5)