gladi-

Sword-shaped, as a leaf of an iris plant.

1. A person, usually a professional combatant, a captive, or a slave, trained to entertain the public by engaging in mortal combat with another person, or a wild animal, in the ancient Roman arena; now more like a person engaged in a controversy or debate, especially in public; a disputant.
2. In ancient Rome, a professional fighter who fought another combatant, or a wild animal, in public entertainments which took place in an arena.

Often gladiators were criminals, or slaves, who were equipped with nets, nooses, swords, or other weapons for battle to entertain Romans in the circuses.

Relating to or resembling gladiators or their form of combat.

From gladius, sword.

Soldiers of the sand (arena), who performed for an audience as entertainment. Inherited from the Etruscans, the gladiator performed throughout Italy, including Rome.

Whether military deserters, condemned criminals, slaves, or freemen; in all cases, they were thought to be volunteers because, otherwise, they probably wouldn't be worth the expense of training in the special schools (ludi).

The gladiator could be a very profitable investment and many of them became very wealthy and were as popular as professional athletes are today.

The female counterpart of the male gladiator, who was an armed fighter who participated in violent combat with humans animals for the entertainment of audiences in the arenas of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.

In botany, any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus, native chiefly to tropical and southern Africa and having sword-shaped leaves and showy, variously colored, irregular flowers arranged in one-sided spikes; also called the "sword lily".

Don't give a sword to a boy.