CUIRASS

cuirass

(noun) medieval body armor that covers the chest and back

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

cuirass (plural cuirasses)

A piece of defensive armor, covering the body from the neck to the girdle.

The breastplate taken by itself.

Verb

cuirass (third-person singular simple present cuirasses, present participle cuirassing, simple past and past participle cuirassed)

(transitive) To cover with defensive armor; to armor-plate.

Source: Wiktionary

Cui*rass" (kw-rs`, or kw`rs; 277), n.; pl. Cuirasses(-. Etym: [ F.cuirasse, orig., a breascuir, cuirie influenced by It. corazza, or Sp. cora, fr. an assumed LL. coriacea, fr. L. coriacevs, adj., of leather, fr. corium leather, hide; akin to Gr. skora hide, Lith. skura hide, leather. Cf. Coriaceous.]

1. (a) A piece of defensive armor, covering the body from the neck to the girdle. (b) The breastplate taken by itself.

Note: The cuirass covered the body before and behind. It consisted of two parts, a breast- and backpiece of iron fastened together by means of straps and buckles or other like contrivances. It was originally, as the name imports, made of leather, but afterward of metal. Crose.

2. (Zoöl)

Definition: An armor of bony plates, somewhat resembling a cuirass.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition