miles gloriosus

See also: Miles Gloriosus

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mīles (“soldier”) + glōriōsus (“glorious”).

Noun

miles gloriosus (plural milites gloriosi)

1. (literary, performing arts) A standard character in ancient comedy and in modern comedy depicting ancient military figures: the bravado-filled, self-important, swaggering soldier.
   • 1898 September 8, “The Army against the War Department”, in New York Times, retrieved 4 December 2010:

     [I]t of course ought not to be said that the General who assumes the responsibility behaved "generously" on one occasion and "magnanimously" upon another. About such expressions there is a reminiscence of the classical "Miles gloriosus" of the British Nelson, or of the American Winfield Scott.

   • 1932, John W. Draper, “Sir John Falstaff”, in The Review of English Studies, volume 8, number 32, page 414:

     He placed Falstaff in the tradition of the miles gloriosus, the type of rascally braggart soldier borrowed from Roman comedy.

   • 2003, Roberta Barker, “Tragical-Comical-Historical Hotspur”, in Shakespeare Quarterly, volume 54, number 3, page 303:

     It is possible, then, to read the text of 1 Henry IV as exploiting Hotspur's contradictions for maximum effect, producing a figure who is neither tragic hero, comic miles gloriosus, nor historical reenactment but exuberantly all three at once.

Usage notes

• Miles Gloriosus was the title of a comedic work by the Roman playwright Plautus (circa 254–184 BCE).
• Notably used as the name of a blustering military general in the comedic play and subsequent motion picture A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962 and 1966, respectively).

References

• “miles gloriosus”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.