Pectoral

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. A covering or protecting for the breast.

2. A breastplate, esp. that worn by the Jewish high person.

3. A clasp or a cross worn on the breast.

4. A medicine for diseases of the chest organs, especially the lungs.

Part of speech: adjective (a.)

1. Of or pertaining to the breast, or chest; as, the pectoral muscles.

2. Relating to, or good for, diseases of the chest or lungs; as, a pectoral remedy.

3. Having the breast conspicuously colored; as, the pectoral sandpiper. Pectoral arch, or Pectoral girdle (Anat.), the two or more bony or cartilaginous pieces of the vertebrate skeleton to which the fore limbs are articulated; the shoulder girdle. In man it consists of two bones, the scapula and clavicle, on each side. -- Pectorial cross (Eccl.), a cross worn on the breast by bishops and abbots, and sometimes also by canons. -- Pectorial fins, or Pectorials (Zoöl.), fins situated on the sides, behind the gills. See Illust. under Fin. -- Pectorial rail. (Zoöl.) See Land rail (b) under Land. -- Pectorial sandpiper (Zoöl.), the jacksnipe (b).