scutum Meaning, Definition & Usage

Scu"tum noun

Etymology

L.

Wordforms

plural Scuta

Definitions

1. (Rom. Antiq.) An oblong shield made of boards or wickerwork covered with leather, with sometimes an iron rim; -- carried chiefly by the heavy-armed infantry.
2. (O. Eng. Law) A penthouse or awning. Obs. Burrill.
3. (Zoöl.) (a) The second and largest of the four parts forming the upper surface of a thoracic segment of an insect. It is preceded by the prescutum and followed by the scutellum. See the Illust. under Thorax. (b) One of the two lower valves of the operculum of a barnacle.