See LSJ s.v. for this and other meanings of the (rare) headword. Its nominative plural, here, is presumably extracted from the quotation given, though the generalised gloss given does not reflect its military setting.
[1] Quotation (transmitted, in Adler's view, via the Excerpta Constantini Porphyrogeniti) unidentifiable. (This word for a skirmish, katapeirasmo/s, is even rarer than the headword; and there is medical terminology throughout.)