Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A medieval shield large enough to protect the whole body.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Mil. Antiq.) A large heavy oblong shield covering the whole body, carried by a pavisor, who sometimes also screened an archer with it. It was originally carried but sometimes set up in permanent position.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun history, medieval A large shield carried in front to protect the whole body of the soldier.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (Middle Ages) a large heavy oblong shield protecting the whole body; originally carried but sometimes set up in permanent position

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French pavais, from Old Italian pavese, from Pavia.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word pavis.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.