Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

épaulière

[ey-pohl-yair; French ey-poh-lyer]
See more synonyms for épaulière on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural é·pau·lières [ey-pohl-yairz; French ey-poh-lyer] /ˌeɪ poʊlˈyɛərz; French eɪ poʊˈlyɛr/. Armor.
  1. pauldron.
Show More

Origin of épaulière

< French, equivalent to épaule (see epaulet) + -ière, feminine form of -ier -ier2; cf. brassiere

pauldron

[pawl-druh n]
noun Armor.
  1. a piece of plate armor for the shoulder and the uppermost part of the arm, often overlapping the adjacent parts of the chest and back.
Show More
Compare spaulder.

Origin of pauldron

1400–50; earlier paleron, poleron, late Middle English polron, pollerons (plural) < Middle French espalleron shoulder. See epaulet
Also called epaulière.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for epauliere

Historical Examples

  • I smote him back, a mighty blow upon his epauliere that shore the steel plate from his shoulder, and left him a vulnerable spot.

    The Shame of Motley

    Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for epauliere

pauldron

noun
  1. either of two metal plates worn with armour to protect the shoulders
Show More

Word Origin

C15: from French espauleron, from espaule shoulder; see epaulette
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for epauliere

pauldron

n.

"armor for the shoulder," mid-15c., from Old French espauleron, from espaule (French épaule) "shoulder" (see epaulet)

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper