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”