scutum

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin scūtum (“shield”). Doublet of escudo.

Noun

scutum (plural scuta)

1. (historical, Roman antiquity) An oblong shield made of boards or wickerwork covered with leather, with sometimes an iron rim; carried chiefly by the heavy-armed infantry of the Roman army.
2. (zoology) A scute.
3. (zoology) In many contexts a shield-like protection, such as the scutum protecting the back of a hard tick
4. (zoology) One of the two lower valves of the operculum of a barnacle.
5. (obsolete) A penthouse or awning.
   • Alexander M. Burrill

     SCUTUM. L.Lat. In old English law. A pent-house or awning; literally, a shield, or shelter. By the Assise of Measures, 9 Ric.I. it was forbidden to all merchants throughout England, to spread over their shop windows red or black cloths or awnings (scuta,) or any other things by which the sight of purchasers is often deceived in selecting a good cloth. ^[1]

Etymology

Referred to either Proto-Indo-European *skewH- (“to cover, protect”) or Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split”). See obscūrus, Old Irish scíath, Russian щит (ščit).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈskuː.tum/, [ˈskuː.tũ]

• Audio (Classical)

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Noun

scūtum n (genitive scūtī); second declension

1. a shield, especially the scutum, the large oblong wooden shield carried by the Roman infantry
2. (by metonymy) shield-bearing soldiers
3. (figuratively) a defense, protection, shelter

References

• scutum in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• scutum in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• scutum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• scutum in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• scutum in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin