poitrine

Noun

poitrine (plural poitrines)

1. (historical) The breastplate of a knight's armour.
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.1924, Albert Frederick Calvert, Spain: An Historical and Descriptive Account of Its Architecture, Landscape, and Arts, page 58
   • IMPORTANT Suit of TURKISH HORSE ARMOR XV Century
     Composed of : chanfron, neck defences, poitrine, croupiere and side pieces of rectangular plates of steel joined by riveted links of mail; saddle, bridle, and stirrups.1936, Frank Gair Macomber, Arms and Armor, Oriental and European Examples of the XV to XVIII Centuries: Valuable Gothic and Renaissance Tapestries

   Synonyms:

   poitrel

3. Chest, bosom, especially of a woman.
   • 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, […]2018, Jerome Bixby, Devilish Tales: A collection of droll, teasing and very wicked fantasies, Digital Parchment Press
   • Her bodices fully covered her ample poitrine right up to her nonexistent neck.2008, Leslie Carroll, Royal Affairs: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy, Penguin, →ISBN, page 326