plastron
[plas-truh n]
- a piece of plate armor for the upper part of the torso in front.
- Fencing. a quilted pad worn over part of the torso, for protection.
- an ornamental front piece of a woman's bodice.
- the starched front of a shirt.
- Zoology. the ventral part of the shell of a turtle.
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Origin of plastron
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for plastron
Historical Examples
The carapace and plastron are usually connected by a "bridge" of bone.
Zoology: The Science of Animal LifeErnest Ingersoll
The plastron is joined to the carapace by the sutures of the bridge.
The reptile, aware of danger, had retired between its carapace and plastron.
AbandonedJules Verne
The use of a species of corslet, (plastron,) to prevent future pressure on the abdomen.
I had myself a great silver bowl, with two goblets, and a plastron of Spanish steel.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
plastron
- the bony plate forming the ventral part of the shell of a tortoise or turtle
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Word Origin
C16: via French from Italian piastrone, from piastra breastplate, from Latin emplastrum plaster
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for plastron
n.
c.1500, from Middle French plastron "breastplate," from Italian piastrone, augmentative of piastra "breastplate, thin metal plate" (see piaster). As an animal part, from 1813; as an article of dress, 1876.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper