hauberk

[ haw-burk ]

noun

, Armor.

1. a long defensive shirt, usually of mail, extending to the knees; byrnie.

hauberk

/ ˈhɔːbɜːk /

noun

1. a long coat of mail, often sleeveless

Word History and Origins

Origin of hauberk¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French hauberc, earlier halberc < Frankish *halsberg, equivalent to *hals neck ( hawse ) + *berg protection ( harbor ); cognate with Old High German halsberc Old English healsbeorg, Old Norse halsbjǫrg

Word History and Origins

Origin of hauberk¹

C13: from Old French hauberc, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German halsberc, Old English healsbeorg, from heals neck + beorg protection, shelter

Example Sentences

On tournament day, to the king’s great chagrin, Each one left his hauberk behind at the inn.

From Washington Post

So Rabadash, by the time he encountered Edmund at the gate, had a hole in the back of his hauberk.

From Literature

And then, in the neatest way you could wish, the tear in the back of his hauberk caught on a hook in the wall.

From Literature

Gandalf took no armour; and Gimli needed no coat of rings, even if one had been found to match his stature, for there was no hauberk in the hoards of Edoras of better make than his short corslet forged beneath the Mountain in the North.

From Literature

Merry’s sword had stabbed him from behind, shearing through the black mantle, and passing up beneath the hauberk had pierced the sinew behind his mighty knee.

From Literature