‖ chiton
(ˈkaɪtɒn)
[a. Gr. χιτών frock, tunic; coat of mail.]
‖ 1. The ancient Greek tunic.
| 1850 J. Leitch Müller's Anc. Art §337 The male chiton was a woollen shirt originally without sleeves. 1885 Athenæum 5 Dec. 741/2 His dress, a scarlet chiton bordered with gold. |
2. A genus of Molluscs having a boat-shaped shell consisting of a series of eight separate plates in contact or overlapping each other.
| 1816 J. Scott Vis. Paris (ed. 5) 301 The anatomy of the chiton. 1835 Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. I. ix. 266 These with the multivalve Chitons, form the Gastropods. 1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. An. viii. 503 The Chitons have existed from the Silurian epoch..with very little modification. |