pectoral

All senses are ultimately from Latin pectorālis, but some may have come through Old French and Middle English.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛk.tə.ɹəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /pɛkˈtoɹəl/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

pectoral (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to the breast, or chest.

   the pectoral muscles

   • 1985, Stephen Marley, Managra, page 14:

     Clad in red robes and a gold pectoral cross, Agostini finally lowered his gaze as he crossed the marble floor.

   • 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:

     ... footballers, fashionable Counsel, corrupt parliamentarians, glistening Under Secretaries from helpful Whitehall Ministries, Greek shipowners, cockney hairdressers, unlisted maharajahs, drunk magistrates, venal mayors, ruling princes of countries that have ceased to exist, prelates in suède boots and pectoral crosses...

2. Relating to, or good for, diseases of the chest or lungs.
   • 1852, Theophilus Thompson, Annals of Influenza Or Epidemic Catarrhal Fever in Great Britain from 1510 to 1837, page 107:

     But, in general, a few days' confinement, abstinence from flesh meat, and frequent sippings of some tepid pectoral drink, sufficed for the cure.

3. (zoology) Having the breast conspicuously colored.

   the pectoral sandpiper

pectoral (plural pectorals)

1. A pectoral fin.
2. Protective armor for a horse's breast.

   Synonym: poitrel

   • 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 30:

     The Poitrinal, Pectoral, or Breast Plate was formed of plates of metal rivetted together, which covered the breast and shoulders of the horse, it was commonly adorned with foliage, or other ornaments engraved or embossed.

3. A covering or protection for the breast.
4. A breastplate, especially that worn by the Jewish high priest.
5. (ecclesiastical) A clasp, cross, or ornamental square of cloth etc. worn upon the breast.
6. (historical) An ancient Egyptian item of jewelry worn upon the chest, often part of (or constituting) a necklace or collar.
7. A medicine for diseases of the chest organs, especially the lungs.

• pectoral on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Pectoral in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

• cartpole

Borrowed from Latin pectorālis. Doublet of pitral.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pək.tuˈɾal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pək.toˈɾal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [pek.toˈɾal]

pectoral m or f (masculine and feminine plural pectorals)

1. (relational) breast, chest; pectoral

• “pectoral” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Borrowed from Latin pectorālis. Doublet of poitrail.

• IPA^(key): /pɛk.tɔ.ʁal/

pectoral m (plural pectoraux)

1. (anatomy) pectoral

pectoral (feminine pectorale, masculine plural pectoraux, feminine plural pectorales)

1. (anatomy) pectoral

• “pectoral”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Borrowed from French pectoral, from Latin pectoralis.

pectoral m or n (feminine singular pectorală, masculine plural pectorali, feminine and neuter plural pectorale)

1. pectoral

Borrowed from Latin pectorālis. Doublet of the inherited petral and pretal.

• IPA^(key): /peɡtoˈɾal/ [peɣ̞.t̪oˈɾal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: pec‧to‧ral

pectoral m or f (masculine and feminine plural pectorales)

1. pectoral (of or relating to the breast or chest)

• “pectoral”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014