vam·brace

(văm′brās′)

A piece of armor used to protect the forearm.

[Middle English vambras, from Anglo-Norman vauntbras : vaunt (variant of Old French avaunt, before; see vanguard) + bras, arm; see bracer².]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

vambrace

(ˈvæmbreɪs) or

vantbrace

(Arms & Armour (excluding Firearms)) a piece of armour used to protect the arm

[C14: from Anglo-French vauntbras, from vaunt- (from Old French avant- fore-) + bras arm]

ˈvambraced adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

vam•brace

(ˈvæm breɪs)

n.

armor for the forearm.

[1300–50; Middle English va(u)mbras < Anglo-French (a)vantbras=avant- fore- (see avaunt) + bras arm (see brace)]

vam′braced, adj.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

vambrace - cannon of plate armor protecting the forearm

lower cannon

body armor, body armour, cataphract, coat of mail, suit of armor, suit of armour - armor that protects the wearer's whole body

cannon - (Middle Ages) a cylindrical piece of armor plate to protect the arm

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Sir Thomas Percy met with little better success, for his shield was split, his vambrace torn and he himself wounded slightly in the side.

View in context

Dyma'r ymarferiad mwyaf o'i fath ar dir ac yn yr awyr ym Mhrydain ers 2003 dan yr enw 'Exercise Vambrace Warrior'.

Dim ystyr i'r Cofio, i'r sawl sy'n credu mewn rhyfel; BARN

Short of trying to sneak chain mail and a mediaeval vambrace on to the pitch, there is little else he can do.

Voisey champing at bit for a return

Prof Prestwich's book provides you with all you need to know, from the proper names of bits of armour (aillettes to vambrace) to what to do if you are cornered by the enemy (find a knight and surrender to him for a ransom, apparently).

All in a day's work for a knight of old

Here are six rooms hung with 132 exhibits, with an excess of speciously relevant background: obscure scraps of armour (sabatons, poleyns and a vambrace with reinforcing couter); grim hunting knives such as St Eustace might have used outside the picture; a sword perhaps slightly like the sword in St George's sheath; a tapestry Pisanello never saw, and other antique fillgaps; and there is not a single place for visitors to sit.

Renaissance gothic at the national gallery

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