Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Jaculum

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rich, Anthony (1849). The illustrated companion to the Latin dictionary, and Greek lexicon. p. vi. OCLC 894670115. https://archive.org/details/illustratedcompa00rich. 

JAC'ULUM. A javelin or dart; which is thrown at a distance, not held in the hand for thrusting (Varro, L. L. vii. 57.); whence the name seems to be given indiscriminately by the Latin authors to many kinds of missiles, even to a spear when discharged from the hand, as a missile. Liv. xxvi. 4. Cic. Tusc. 1. 42. Virg. Aen. ix. 52. with Serv. ad l.

2. A cast-net used for taking fish (Ovid. A. Am. i. 763.), which differed in some manner from the funda; for Ausonius (Epist. iv. 54.) mentions both these articles as a necessary part of a fisherman's fit out, but without affording any clue by which the difference can be traced.

3. The net used by the retiarius (Isidor. Orig. xviii. 54.), who hampered his opponent by throwing it over his head, and dispatching him with his trident, as shown and explained s. RETIARIUS.

4. Jaculus. A long rope with a noose at the end, like the lasso, employed for catching steers out of a herd, when it was required to bring them into the homestead, and break them to the plough. Columell. vi. 2. 4.