scutum

American  

[skyoo-tuhm] / ˈskyu təm /

noun

plural

scuta,

genitive

Scuti

1. Zoology. scute.

2. a large, oblong shield used by the heavy legionaries of ancient Rome.

3. (initial capital letter) the Shield, a southern constellation north of Sagittarius and east of Aquila, containing a small, very bright star cloud.

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scutum ¹ British  

/ ˈskjuːtəm /

noun

1. the middle of three plates into which the notum of an insect's thorax is divided

2. another word for scute

3. a large Roman shield

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Scutum ² British  

/ ˈskjuːtəm /

noun

1. Also called: Scutum Sobieskii.  a small faint constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Sagittarius and Aquila and crossed by the Milky Way

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Etymology

Origin of scutum

First recorded in 1765–75; from Latin scūtum “shield”

Example Sentences

Found globally, these insects are named for their outsized scutellum, from the Latin word scutum, meaning shield.

From National Geographic • Jun. 23, 2018

The company was named using the Latin aqua and scutum, meaning water shield, and its grey Aquascutum raincoats were worn during the Crimean war by British army officers.

From The Guardian • Jul. 31, 2011

Lepas anatifera, internal view of right-hand scutum, to show the tooth at the umbo.

From A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia With Figures of all the Species. by Darwin, Charles

There is a very narrow ovigerous fr�num, with a straight edge, lying on each side under the line of junction between the scutum and upper latus.

From A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia With Figures of all the Species. by Darwin, Charles

The tergum, measured in a straight line, equals in length two thirds of the occludent segment of the scutum, the handle being rather narrower than this same segment.

From A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia With Figures of all the Species. by Darwin, Charles