Pavais

Alternative forms

• pavesse
• pavese
• pavise

Origin

Old French pavaix, French pavois; compare Italian pavese, Latin pavense; perhaps named from Pavia in Italy.

Full definition of pavais

Noun

1. (military, historical) A very large shield covering a soldier from head to foot, often with a projecting ridge running vertically down the center.
• 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 27:The pavais, pavache, or tallevas was a large shield, or rather a portable mantlet, capable of covering a man from head to foot, and probably of sufficient thickness to resist the missive weapons then in use.----