thorax
.
Searchable Lemmata: thorax (L).
Alternate Forms: thoraca, thoracicla, toracus.
Definitions and Defining Citations:
1(n.)
Armour;
armour covering the chest, or upper body more generally. The word was adopted into Middle English by about 1400, but only in the anatomical sense (still current in English). The Revised Medieval Latin Word-List notes an example of the derived toracus 'cuirass' for the 12th century and instances of a diminutive thoracicla (primarily in an anatomical sense) from before the 8th cent.(ante 700 - post 1100 ?)
Sex: Male Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
2(n.) ;
some kind of ornament or decoration worn on the chest.(ante 1100)
Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
Etymological Evidence:
Definite, Classical Latin, from Greek θώραξ 'corslet, cuirass of armour for the chest/upper body'. Only secondarily did the Classical Latin and Greek word have the anatomical sense of 'chest'.
WF: Borrowed into the British Isles
Etym Cog:
References:
