Cui*rass" (kw&esl;*r&adot;s", or kwē"răs; 277), n.; pl. Cuirasses(-&ebreve;z). [F. cuirasse, orig., a breastplate of leather, for OF. cuirée, cuirie influenced by It. corazza, or Sp. coraza, fr. an assumed LL. coriacea, fr. L. coriaceus, adj., of leather, fr. corium leather, hide; akin to Gr. cho`rion intestinal membrane, OSlav. skora hide, Lith. skura hide, leather. Cf. Coriaceous.] 1. (a) A piece of defensive armor, covering the body from the neck to the girdle. (b) The breastplate taken by itself.

&fist; The cuirass covered the body before and behind. It consisted of two parts, a breast- and backpiece of iron fastened together by means of straps and buckles or other like contrivances. It was originally, as the name imports, made of leather, but afterward of metal. Grose.

2. (Zoöl) An armor of bony plates, somewhat resembling a cuirass.

• A piece of defensive armor, covering the body from the neck to the girdle.
       Quotations
       *1786: The cuirass covered the body before and behind, it consisted of two parts, a breast and back piece of iron, fastened together by means of straps and buckles, or other contrivances. They were originally as the name imports, made of leather, but afterwards of metal, both brass and iron. — Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 19.
  
• The breastplate taken by itself.