emeriti

EME´RITI[EXERCITUS]

Roman soldiers who were discharged from military duty (Val. Max. vi. 1, 10; Ovid, Trist. iv. 8, 21), having served the full time required by law—viz., twenty years for the legionaries and sixteen for the praetorians (Tac. Ann. i. 78; Dio. Cass. lv. 23).