codpiece

codpiece
noun /ˈkɒdˌpiːs/
a) A part of male dress in front of the breeches to cover the male genitals, sometimes made very conspicuous in former times.

Borachio: Seest thou not, I say, what a deformed thief this fashion is, how giddily ’a turns about all the hot-bloods between fourteen and five-and-thirty, sometimes fashioning them like Pharaoh’s soliders in the reechy painting, sometime like god Bel’s priests in the old church-window, sometime like the shaven Hercules in the smirch’d worm-eaten tapestry, where his codpiece seems as massy as his club?

b) A conspicuous protection for the male genitals in a suit of plate armor.

On some suits were screwed large iron cod-pieces; these, according to tradition, were intended to prevent the ill consequences of those violent shocks received in charging, either in battle, or at a tournament. Same say, they were meant to contain sponges for receiving the water of knights, who in the heat of an engagement might not have any more convenient method of discharging it. But most probably, they were rather constructed in conformity to a reigning fashion in the make of the breeches of those times.


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  • Codpiece — Cod piece , n. [Cod, n., ? + piece.] A part of male dress in front of the breeches, formerly made very conspicuous. Shak. Fosbroke. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • codpiece — mid 15c., a bagged appendage to the front of the breeches; often conspicuous [OED], from O.E. codd a bag, pouch, husk, in M.E., testicles (common Germanic, Cf. O.N. koddi pillow, Du. kodde bag ) + PIECE (Cf. piece) …   Etymology dictionary

  • codpiece — ► NOUN ▪ a pouch to cover the genitals on a pair of man s breeches, worn in the 15th and 16th centuries. ORIGIN from earlier cod «scrotum», from Old English, «bag» …   English terms dictionary

  • codpiece — [käd′pēs΄] n. [ COD2 + PIECE] a bag or flap fastened over the front opening in the tight breeches worn by men in the 15th and 16th cent …   English World dictionary

  • Codpiece — Henry VIII wearing a codpiece A codpiece (from Middle English: cod, meaning scrotum ) is a covering flap or pouch that attaches to the front of the crotch of men s trousers and usually accentuates the genital area. It was held closed by string… …   Wikipedia

  • codpiece — /kod pees /, n. 1. (in the 15th and 16th centuries) a flap or cover for the crotch in men s hose or tight fitting breeches, usually matching the costume and often decorated. 2. Obs. penis. [1400 50; late ME. See COD2, PIECE] * * * ▪ clothing… …   Universalium

  • codpiece — UK [ˈkɒdˌpiːs] / US [ˈkɑdˌpɪs] noun [countable] Word forms codpiece : singular codpiece plural codpieces a piece of material covering a man s sexual organs, worn in the 15th and 16th centuries …   English dictionary

  • codpiece — [[t]kɒ̱dpiːs[/t]] codpieces N COUNT A codpiece was a piece of material worn by men in the 15th and 16th centuries to cover their genitals …   English dictionary

  • codpiece — noun Etymology: Middle English codpese, from cod bag, scrotum (from Old English codd) + pese piece Date: 15th century a flap or bag concealing an opening in the front of men s breeches especially in the 15th and 16th centuries …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • codpiece — cod|piece [ˈkɔdpi:s US ˈka:d ] n [Date: 1400 1500; Origin: cod bag, scrotum (11 19 centuries) (from Old English codd) + piece] a piece of coloured cloth worn by men in the 15th and 16th centuries to cover the opening in the front of their… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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