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• scutum
  scutum

  noun

  scute.
• Scutum
  Scutum

  noun

  a small faint constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Sagittarius and Aquila and crossed by the Milky Way

scutum

American  

[skyoo-tuhm] / ˈskyu təm /

noun

scuta plural

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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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• scuta
  plural

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

They are warm green-house ferns and of easy culture, and are supposed to be hybrid forms of the old A. scutum.

From Garden and Forest Weekly, Volume 1 No. 1, February 29, 1888 by Various

—The origin of the sign of the dollar, concerning which T. C. inquires, is, I believe, a contraction of scutum, the same as £, formerly written £i, is of libra.

From Notes and Queries, Vol. III, Number 86, June 21, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Geneologists, etc. by Various

Took out my ring of brass, and put it on the index-finger of my right hand, with the scutum Davidis traced thereon.

From The Haunters & The Haunted Ghost Stories And Tales Of The Supernatural by Rhys, Ernest