(in ancient Greece and Rome) a loose woollen tunic worn knee length by men and full length by women
2. Also called: coat-of-mail shell
any small primitive marine mollusc of the genus Chiton and related genera, having an elongated body covered with eight overlapping shell plates: class Amphineura
Word origin
C19: from Greek khitōn coat of mail, of Semitic origin; related to Hebrew kethōnet
chiton in American English
(ˈkaɪtən; ˈkaɪˌtɑn)
noun
1.
a loose garment of varying length, similar to a tunic, worn by both men and women in ancient Greece
2.
any of a class (Polyplacophora) of mostly small, ovoid marine mollusks, having a dorsal shell consisting of eight articulating calcareous plates and a ventral foot
Word origin
Gr chitōn, garment, tunic, coat of mail: see tunic