Scapular

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈskapjʊlə/

Definitions

1. A garment worn across the shoulders primarily by religious adherents, which also denotes a specific bone configuration found in the shoulder of some animal species
2. This is a type of clothing that rests on the shoulders, frequently used in a spiritual context, and it also refers to the anatomical structure located in the shoulder area
3. A piece of religious clothing that drapes over the shoulders, often associated with devotion, also refers to a bone structure in the shoulder of certain animals

Etymology: The shoulder is the key to this word's story. The Latin "scapula" meant "shoulder" (and, in the plural, "shoulder blades"), and from it Latin speakers built "scapulare" for a garment worn over the shoulders. Medieval English borrowed that object name as "scapelar," and the religious sense came with it: a scapular is a pair of small cloth panels, joined by strings, worn over the shoulders with one piece hanging at the chest and one at the back. The adjective "scapularis" in Latin also described anything relating to the shoulder, so the word has two faces: a noun for a garment and an adjective for the shoulder region. The English adjective "scapular" carries that anatomical sense, as in "scapular bone," meaning the shoulder blade.