greave

[ greev ]

nounArmor.

a piece of plate armor for the leg between the knee and the ankle, usually composed of front and back pieces.

Origin of greave

1300–50; Middle English greves (plural) <Old French < ?

Also called jamb, jambeau .

Other words from greave

greaved, adjective

Words that may be confused with greave

greave , grieve

Words Nearby greave

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use greave in a sentence

He, Hawberk, had negotiated for and secured the greave, and now the suit was complete.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Did you continue the search so persistently without any certainty of the greave being still in existence?
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
And when he came he cast his spear, striking the leg below the knee, but the greave turned off the spear, so strong was it.
Stories of the Old world | Alfred John Church
One of them must have gnawed on my ankle some, between the greave and the heel-plate, but he couldn't quite get through.
Spacehounds of IPC | Edward Elmer Smith
The legionaries began putting on their armour, fastened the greave protecting the right leg, and took up bucklers and lances.
The Death of the Gods | Dmitri Mrejkowski

He must surely be a bit of a bigot, who would hastily pronounce that even greave's Spiritual Quixotte is an irreligious work.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 64 No. 396 October 1848 | Various
Griff—a valley-name in east Yorkshire, probably connected with 'greave,' which is common in Derbyshire.
Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - England | W. P. Haskett Smith

British Dictionary definitions for greave

greave

/ (ɡriːv) /

noun

(often plural) a piece of armour worn to protect the shin from the ankle to the knee

Origin of greave

C14: from Old French greve, perhaps from graver to part the hair, of Germanic origin

Derived forms of greave

greaved, adjective

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

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