cyclas

[sik-luhs]

noun

plural

cyclades 

1. a tunic or surcoat, longer in back than in front, worn over armor in the Middle Ages.

2. a similar, full-length garment worn by women.

3. a round robe with an elaborately ornamented border, worn by women in ancient Rome.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cyclas¹

1825–35; < Medieval Latin, Latin < Greek kyklás, noun use of kyklás encircling, akin to kýklos cycle

Example Sentences

He is shown wearing the curious surcoat then in fashion, known as a cyclas, which, in front, reached only to the waist, and, behind, to the knees.

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The tufa contains black lines from vegetable matter, and numerous land and freshwater shells of present-day species—many species of Helix, especially H. nemoralis and H. rotundata, Cyclostoma elegans, Limnæa palustris, Pupa, Clausilia, Cyclas, and others.

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The marl often consists almost entirely of an aggregate of shells of the genera Limnea, Planorbis, Valvata, and Cyclas, of species now existing in Scotland.

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In the valley of the Thames, as at Ilford and Grays, in Essex, bones of the elephant and rhinoceros occur in strata abounding in freshwater shells of the genera Unio, Cyclas, Paludina, Valvata, Ancylus, and others.

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The geological monuments alluded to, consist of patches of sand and gravel, forty feet thick, containing fluviatile shells of the genera Unio, Cyclas, Melania, &c., such as now inhabit the waters of the Niagara above the Falls.

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