scutum

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin scūtum (“shield”). Doublet of escudo, scudo, scute, and écu.

noun

1. (historical, Roman antiquity) An oblong shield made of boards or wickerwork covered with leather, with sometimes an iron rim; carried chiefly by the heavily armed infantry of the Roman army.
2. (zoology) A scute.
3. (zoology) A shield-like protection, such as the scutum protecting the back of a hard tick (cf. alloscutum, conscutum)
   A tick's eye, if present, is a mere roundish lucent area at the margin of the scutum about opposite the second coxa. 2009, Dwight D. Bowman, Georgis' Parasitology for Veterinarians
4. (zoology) One of the two lower valves of the operculum of a barnacle.
5. (anatomy) The kneecap.