chiton
pronunciation
How to pronounce chiton in British English:
UK ['kaɪtn]
How to pronounce chiton in American English:
US ['kaɪtn]
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- Noun:
- a woolen tunic worn by men and women in ancient Greece
- primitive elongated bilaterally symmetrical marine mollusk having a mantle covered with eight calcareous plates
Word Origin
- chiton (n.)
- mollusc genus, 1816, from Latinized form of Greek khiton "frock (worn by both sexes), tunic, mail coat" (see chitin). Used in English in literal sense of "ancient Greek tunic" from 1850. The molluscs also are known as "coat-of-mail shells" for their mail-like covering.