ces|tus

ces|tus¹ «SEHS tuhs», noun.

1. a belt or girdle for the waist, particularly that worn by a bride in ancient times.

2. Greek and Roman Mythology. the girdle of Aphrodite, or Venus, supposed to have the power of arousing love.

╂[< Latin cestus < Greek kestós girdle]

ces|tus² «SEHS tuhs», noun.

a covering made of strips of leather, often loaded with metal, worn on the hands and forearms by boxers in ancient times: »

The boxers in the mosaic wear the cestus. Their fists, clenched around bars of lead, are wrapped in thongs of hard leather,…as though they were wearing boxing gloves (New Yorker).

╂[< Latin caestus, apparently < caedere to strike]