chain mail
 鎖子甲


 Mail n.
 1. A flexible fabric made of metal rings interlinked. It was used especially for defensive armor.
 Chain mail, Coat of mail. See under Chain, and Coat.
 2. Hence generally, armor, or any defensive covering.
 3. Naut. A contrivance of interlinked rings, for rubbing off the loose hemp on lines and white cordage.
 4. Zool. Any hard protective covering of an animal, as the scales and plates of reptiles, shell of a lobster, etc.
    We . . . strip the lobster of his scarlet mail.   --Gay.


 Ring n.  A circle, or a circular line, or anything in the form of a circular line or hoop.
 2. Specifically, a circular ornament of gold or other precious material worn on the finger, or attached to the ear, the nose, or some other part of the person; as, a wedding ring.
    Upon his thumb he had of gold a ring.   --Chaucer.
    The dearest ring in Venice will I give you.   --Shak.
 3. A circular area in which races are or run or other sports are performed; an arena.
 Place me, O, place me in the dusty ring,
 Where youthful charioteers contend for glory.   --E. Smith.
 4. An inclosed space in which pugilists fight; hence, figuratively, prize fighting. “The road was an institution, the ring was an institution.”
 5. A circular group of persons.
 And hears the Muses in a ring
 Aye round about Jove's alter sing.   --Milton.
 6. Geom. (a) The plane figure included between the circumferences of two concentric circles. (b) The solid generated by the revolution of a circle, or other figure, about an exterior straight line (as an axis) lying in the same plane as the circle or other figure.
 7. Astron. & Navigation An instrument, formerly used for taking the sun's altitude, consisting of a brass ring suspended by a swivel, with a hole at one side through which a solar ray entering indicated the altitude on the graduated inner surface opposite.
 8. Bot. An elastic band partly or wholly encircling the spore cases of ferns. See Illust. of Sporangium.
 9. A clique; an exclusive combination of persons for a selfish purpose, as to control the market, distribute offices, obtain contracts, etc.
    The ruling ring at Constantinople.   --E. A. Freeman.
 Ring armor, armor composed of rings of metal. See Ring mail, below, and Chain mail, under Chain.
 Ring blackbird Zool., the ring ousel.
 Ring canal Zool., the circular water tube which surrounds the esophagus of echinoderms.
 Ring dotterel, or Ringed dotterel. Zool. See Dotterel, and Illust. of Pressiroster.
 Ring dropper, a sharper who pretends to have found a ring (dropped by himself), and tries to induce another to buy it as valuable, it being worthless.
 Ring fence. See under Fence.
 Ring finger, the third finger of the left hand, or the next the little finger, on which the ring is placed in marriage.
 Ring formula Chem., a graphic formula in the shape of a closed ring, as in the case of benzene, pyridine, etc. See Illust. under Benzene.
 Ring mail, a kind of mail made of small steel rings sewed upon a garment of leather or of cloth.
 Ring micrometer. Astron. See Circular micrometer, under Micrometer.
 Saturn's rings. See Saturn.
 Ring ousel. Zool. See Ousel.
 Ring parrot Zool., any one of several species of Old World parrakeets having a red ring around the neck, especially Palaeornis torquatus, common in India, and Palaeornis Alexandri of Java.
 Ring plover. Zool. (a) The ringed dotterel. (b) Any one of several small American plovers having a dark ring around the neck, as the semipalmated plover (Aegialitis semipalmata).
 Ring snake Zool., a small harmless American snake (Diadophis punctatus) having a white ring around the neck. The back is ash-colored, or sage green, the belly of an orange red.
 Ring stopper. Naut. See under Stopper.
 Ring thrush Zool., the ring ousel.
 The prize ring, the ring in which prize fighters contend; prize fighters, collectively.
 The ring. (a) The body of sporting men who bet on horse races. [Eng.] (b) The prize ring.


 Chain n.
 1. A series of links or rings, usually of metal, connected, or fitted into one another, used for various purposes, as of support, of restraint, of ornament, of the exertion and transmission of mechanical power, etc.
    [They] put a chain of gold about his neck.   --Dan. v. 29.
 2. That which confines, fetters, or secures, as a chain; a bond; as, the chains of habit.
 Driven down
 To chains of darkness and the undying worm.   --Milton.
 3. A series of things linked together; or a series of things connected and following each other in succession; as, a chain of mountains; a chain of events or ideas.
 4. Surv. An instrument which consists of links and is used in measuring land.
 Note: ☞ One commonly in use is Gunter's chain, which consists of one hundred links, each link being seven inches and ninety-two one hundredths in length; making up the total length of rods, or sixty-six, feet; hence, a measure of that length; hence, also, a unit for land measure equal to four rods square, or one tenth of an acre.
 5. pl. Naut. Iron links bolted to the side of a vessel to bold the dead-eyes connected with the shrouds; also, the channels.
 6. Weaving The warp threads of a web.
 Chain belt Mach., a belt made of a chain; -- used for transmitting power.
 Chain boat, a boat fitted up for recovering lost cables, anchors, etc.
 Chain bolt (a) Naut. The bolt at the lower end of the chain plate, which fastens it to the vessel's side. (b) A bolt with a chain attached for drawing it out of position.
 Chain bond. See Chain timber.
 Chain bridge, a bridge supported by chain cables; a suspension bridge.
 Chain cable, a cable made of iron links.
 Chain coral Zool., a fossil coral of the genus Halysites, common in the middle and upper Silurian rocks. The tubular corallites are united side by side in groups, looking in an end view like links of a chain. When perfect, the calicles show twelve septa.
 Chain coupling. (a) A shackle for uniting lengths of chain, or connecting a chain with an object. (b) Railroad Supplementary coupling together of cars with a chain.
 Chain gang, a gang of convicts chained together.
 Chain hook Naut., a hook, used for dragging cables about the deck.
 Chain mail, flexible, defensive armor of hammered metal links wrought into the form of a garment.
 Chain molding Arch., a form of molding in imitation of a chain, used in the Normal style.
 Chain pier, a pier suspended by chain.
 Chain pipe Naut., an opening in the deck, lined with iron, through which the cable is passed into the lockers or tiers.
 Chain plate Shipbuilding, one of the iron plates or bands, on a vessel's side, to which the standing rigging is fastened.
 Chain pulley, a pulley with depressions in the periphery of its wheel, or projections from it, made to fit the links of a chain.
 Chain pumps. See in the Vocabulary.
 Chain rule Arith., a theorem for solving numerical problems by composition of ratios, or compound proportion, by which, when several ratios of equality are given, the consequent of each being the same as the antecedent of the next, the relation between the first antecedent and the last consequent is discovered.
 Chain shot Mil., two cannon balls united by a shot chain, formerly used in naval warfare on account of their destructive effect on a ship's rigging.
 Chain stitch. See in the Vocabulary.
 Chain timber. Arch. See Bond timber, under Bond.
 Chain wales. Naut. Same as Channels.
 Chain wheel. See in the Vocabulary.
 Closed chain, Open chain Chem., terms applied to the chemical structure of compounds whose rational formulæ are written respectively in the form of a closed ring (see Benzene nucleus, under Benzene), or in an open extended form.
 Endless chain, a chain whose ends have been united by a link.


 Coat n.
 1. An outer garment fitting the upper part of the body; especially, such a garment worn by men.
 Let each
 His adamantine coat gird well.   --Milton.
 2. A petticoat. [Obs.] “A child in coats.”
 3. The habit or vesture of an order of men, indicating the order or office; cloth.
    Men of his coat should be minding their prayers.   --Swift.
    She was sought by spirits of richest coat.   --Shak.
 4. An external covering like a garment, as fur, skin, wool, husk, or bark; as, the horses coats were sleek.
 Fruit of all kinds, in coat
 Rough or smooth rined, or bearded husk, or shell.   --Milton.
 5. A layer of any substance covering another; a cover; a tegument; as, the coats of the eye; the coats of an onion; a coat of tar or varnish.
 6. Same as Coat of arms. See below.
 Hark, countrymen! either renew the fight,
 Or tear the lions out of England's coat.   --Shak.
 7. A coat card. See below. [Obs.]
    Here's a trick of discarded cards of us! We were ranked with coats as long as old master lived.   --Massinger.
 Coat armor. See under Armor.
 Coat of arms Her., a translation of the French cotte d'armes, a garment of light material worn over the armor in the 15th and 16th centuries. This was often charged with the heraldic bearings of the wearer. Hence, an heraldic achievement; the bearings of any person, taken together.
 Coat card, a card bearing a coated figure; the king, queen, or knave of playing cards. “‘I am a coat card indeed.' ‘Then thou must needs be a knave, for thou art neither king nor queen.'” --Rowley.
 Coat link, a pair of buttons or studs joined by a link, to hold together the lappels of a double-breasted coat; or a button with a loop for a single-breasted coat.
 Coat of mail, a defensive garment of chain mail.  See Chain mail, under Chain.
 Mast coat Naut., a piece of canvas nailed around a mast, where it passes through the deck, to prevent water from getting below.
 Sail coat Naut., a canvas cover laced over furled sails, and the like, to keep them dry and clean.


 chain mail
      n : (Middle Ages) flexible armor made of interlinked metal rings
          [syn: ring mail, mail, chain armor, chain armour,
           ring armor, ring armour]