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épaulière

[ey-pohl-yair; French ey-poh-lyer]
noun, plural é·pau·lières [ey-pohl-yairz; French ey-poh-lyer] /ˌeɪ poʊlˈyɛərz; French eɪ poʊˈlyɛr/. Armor.
  1. pauldron.
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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.
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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
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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)

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper