Pallium

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈpalɪəm/

Origin

From Latin pallium ("a cloak").

Full definition of pallium

Noun

1. A woollen vestment conferred on archbishops by the Pope.
• 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 339:Gregory sent Augustine a special liturgical stole, the pallium, a piece of official ecclesiastical dress borrowed from the garments worn by imperial officials.
2. (historical) A large cloak worn by Greek philosophers and teachers.
3. (zoology) The mantle of a mollusc.
4. (meteorology) A sheet of cloud covering the whole sky, especially nimbostratus.
5. (anatomy) The cerebral cortex.

Related terms

• palliation
• palliate
• palliative