Gladius

Gladius
Replica pseudo-Pompeii gladius
Type	Sword
Place of origin	Ancient Rome as gladius.
Service history
In service	4th century BC–3rd century AD.
Used by	Legionary in Roman service, Roman-influenced other forces.
Wars	Roman Republic and Roman Empire
Specifications
Weight	0.7–1 kg (1.5–2.2 lb)
Length	60–85 cm (24–33 in)
Blade length	45–68 cm (1.48–2.23 ft)
Width	5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in)
Blade type	steel of varying degrees of carbon content, pointed, double-edged.
Hilt type	Wood, bronze or ivory.

Gladius (English pronunciation: /ɡleɪdiəs/;Latin: glădĭus, pronounced [ˈɡladiʊs]) was one Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman foot soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early part of the conquest of Hispania. This sword was known as the gladius hispaniensis, or Hispanic Sword.

A fully equipped Roman legionary after the reforms of Gaius Marius was armed with a shield (scutum), one or two javelins (pila), a sword (gladius), often a dagger (pugio), and, perhaps in the later Empire period, darts (plumbatae). Conventionally, soldiers threw javelins to disable the enemy's shields and disrupt enemy formations before engaging in close combat, for which they drew the gladius. A soldier generally led with the shield and thrust with the sword. All gladius types appear to have been suitable for cutting and chopping as well as thrusting.

Gladius is a Latin masculine second declension noun. Its (nominative and vocative) plural is gladiī. However, gladius in Latin refers to any sword, not specifically the modern definition of a gladius. The word appears in literature as early as the plays of Plautus (Casina, Rudens).