scutum

[ skyoo-tuhm ]

noun

plural: scuta [skyoo, -t, uh] genitive: Scuti [skoo, -tahy].

1. Zoology. scute ( def 1 ).
2. a large, oblong shield used by the heavy legionaries of ancient Rome.
3. genitive Scuti [skoo, -tahy]. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Shield, a southern constellation north of Sagittarius and east of Aquila, containing a small, very bright star cloud.

Scutum

¹

/ ˈskjuːtəm /

noun

1. a small faint constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Sagittarius and Aquila and crossed by the Milky Way Also calledScutum Sobieskiisɒˈbjɛskɪ

scutum

²

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of scutum¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of scutum¹

Latin, literally: the Shield

Origin of scutum²

Latin: shield

Example Sentences

Some stars, like UY Scuti, an extreme red hypergiant in the constellation Scutum, have a radius 1,700 times our sun, which could fit inside it almost 5 billion times.

From Salon

The Scutum Constellation guards the Wild Duck Cluster, a collection of stars that resembles a flock of ducks.

From Seattle Times

But the abundant star type known as δ Scuti7, named after a star in the constellation Scutum, has remained one of the exceptions.

From Nature

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

From National Geographic

In 2011 Dame and colleagues used radio measurements to tentatively trace the path of one spiral arm, called Scutum–Centaurus.

From Scientific American