cuirass

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a piece of body armour protecting the chest and back, originally of leather and later usually of metal

   The portrait showed a cavalry officer wearing a polished steel cuirass.

2. 2
   verb

   to protect or cover as if with a cuirass

   The vehicle was cuirassed with additional steel plates before the battle.

From Middle English curasse or curesse, through Old French cuirace, from cuir ('leather'), ultimately Latin corium ('hide, leather'). The spelling was later influenced by modern French cuirasse; the name recalls the armour's original leather construction.

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