"Clibanarii" is a Latin word for "mail-clad riders", itself a derivative of the Greek (), meaning "camp oven bearers" from the Greek word , meaning "camp oven" or "metallic furnace"; the word has also been tentatively linked to the Persian word for a warrior, . However, it appears with more frequency in Latin sources than in Greek throughout antiquity. A twofold origin of the Greek term has been proposed: either that it was a humorous reference to the heavily armored cataphracts as men encased in armor who would heat up very quickly much like in an oven; or that it was further derived from the Old Persian word "*griwbanar" (or "*grivpanvar"), itself composed of the Iranian roots "griva-pana-bara", which translates into "neck-guard wearer".