pauldron

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From earlier pouldron,[1] poleron, paleron[2] from Middle English polron,[2] palerns, pollerons.[3] This may have been borrowed from Old French paleron,[3] which derives from elements corresponding to French pale (“blade (of a shovel, etc)”) + -eron but was semantically influenced by Old French espaule (“shoulder”) (whence French épaule).[4] Alternatively, some references derive the Middle English word from Middle French espalleron, espauleron, from Old French espaule.[2][5] Although a form with d at the end is found in Middle English (polrondys,[3] compare Early Modern English polrynges c. 1550), the interpolation of a d between the l and the r dates to the 1500s;[1] the d, and the preference since the early 1800s for the spelling and pronunciation with paul- rather than poul-, may be due to the influence of spaulder.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈpɔl.dɹən/

Noun

pauldron (plural pauldrons)

  1. A component of plate armor that protects the shoulder, generally covering more than a spaulder, also protecting the armpit and overlapping with other armor over the upper chest and back.
    Coordinate terms: spaulder, epauliere, espauliere
    • 1834, Matthew Holbeche Bloxam, A Glimpse at the Monumental Architecture and Sculpture of Great Britain from the Earliest Period to the Eighteenth Century:
      Upon the espaulieres are placed pauldrons, also ridged, with the edges turned up, so as to form the prototypes of pass-guards.

Translations

See also

Further reading
  1. Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
  2. “pauldron”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  3. “polron, noun.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  4. “paleron”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
  5. “pauldron”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
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