Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
Alternative form of brassard (“armour for the arm”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A casque or armour covering for the head; a helmet.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Attested since at least 1676 for arm-armour (see brassard). Application to helmets dates to at least the 1840s, of obscure origin, perhaps a misinterpretation: an early mention in Alphonso Wood's 1845 Class-book of Botany defines it broadly ("Eng. brasset signifies a helmet or target", i.e. shield), and around this time antiquarians spread mistaken definitions of several other armor terms (e.g. manefaire, passguard).
