Dictionary

miles gloriosus en · NOUN

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (literary, qualifier:performing arts) A standard character in ancient comedy and in modern comedy depicting ancient military figures: the bravado-filled, self-important, swaggering soldier.
   • [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. 1898 September 8, “The Army against the War Department”, in New York Times, retrieved 04 Dec 2010:
   • 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. 2003, Roberta Barker, “Tragical-Comical-Historical Hotspur”, in Shakespeare Quarterly, volume 54, number 3, page 303:
   • He placed Falstaff in the tradition of the miles gloriosus, the type of rascally braggart soldier borrowed from Roman comedy. 1932, John W. Draper, “Sir John Falstaff”, in The Review of English Studies, volume 8, number 32, page 414:

Forms