[L. ancīle (of doubtful etymol.), pl. ancīlia, a small oval shield, and spec.] The sacred shield of the ancient Romans, said to have fallen from heaven; on the preservation of which the prosperity of the city was supposed to depend.
1600. Holland, Livy, I. xx. 15/1. Certaine scutcheons or bucklers that fell from heaven, called Ancilia.
1674. Brevint, Saul at Endor, 385 (T.). The Trojans secured their palladium: the Romans their ancile.
1855. Singleton, Virgil, II. 171. And in his left hand the ancile bare.
