What is "dimachaerus"

The dimachaeri (singular: dimachaerus) were a type of Roman gladiator that fought with two swords. The name is the Latin-language borrowing of the Greek word meaning "bearing two knives" (di- dual + machairi knife).

The dimachaeri were popular during the 2nd-4th centuries AD, and were probably considered to be "insidious" by many Romans. Both written and pictorial records on dimachaeri are scant and rather indeterminate. Thus, an inscription from Lyon, France, mentions such a type of gladiator, here spelled dymacherus.