Poitrine
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The breastplate of a knight's armour. historical
- 2 Synonym of poitrel (“chest-armor for a horse”).
"The horse-armour of the harnesses (A37-38), on the contrary, seems to have been made for the Emperor Maxmilian, […] The ear-coverings of the one are shaped like rams ' horns, and the poitrine, or breast-plate, is embossed with grotesque faces."
- 3 Chest, bosom, especially of a woman.
"2018, Jerome Bixby, Devilish Tales: A collection of droll, teasing and very wicked fantasies, Digital Parchment Press Full red lips and a patrician nose, and a delicately formed but ample poitrine that curled Pierre's hands into iron hooks beneath the counter. "Forgive me, kind sir," she said, in a voice like music in a bedroom, […]"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The horse-armour of the harnesses (A37-38), on the contrary, seems to have been made for the Emperor Maxmilian, […] The ear-coverings of the one are shaped like rams ' horns, and the poitrine, or breast-plate, is embossed with grotesque faces."
Etymology
From French poitrine or a Middle or Old French predecessor.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.