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What is the Latin term for the famous hand gesture used by crowds to decide the fate of a defeated gladiator?

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Correct answer: Pollice verso

Translating to 'with a turned thumb,' pollice verso was the gesture used to signal a gladiator's fate. While popular culture depicts a thumbs-down as the death blow, historians believe a thumb tucked into the fist (pollice compresso) symbolized a sheathed sword to spare him, while an extended or turned thumb meant death. Photo: Jean-Léon Gérôme, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

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Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

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