Category:Buckler

Buc"kler, n. Etym: [OE. bocler, OF. bocler, F. bouclier, a shield with a boss, from OF. bocle, boucle, boss. See Buckle, n.]

1. A kind of shield, of various shapes and sizes, worn on one of the arms (usually the left) for protecting the front of the body.

Note: In the sword and buckler play of the Middle Ages in England, the buckler was a small shield, used, not to cover the body, but to stop or parry blows.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) One of the large, bony, external plates found on many ganoid fishes. (b) The anterior segment of the shell of trilobites.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: A block of wood or plate of iron made to fit a hawse hole, or the circular opening in a half-port, to prevent water from entering when the vessel pitches. Blind buckler (Naut.), a solid buckler. -- Buckler mustard (Bot.), a genus of plants (Biscutella) with small bright yellow flowers. The seed vessel on bursting resembles two bucklers or shields. -- Buckler thorn, a plant with seed vessels shaped like a buckler. See Christ's thorn. -- Riding buckler (Naut.), a buckler with a hole for the passage of a cable.

Buckler Buc"kler, v. t.

Defn: To shield; to defend. [Obs.] Can Oxford, that did ever fence the right, Now buckler falsehood with a pedigree Shak.

- ---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Buckler -

(1.) A portable shield (2 Samuel 22:31; 1 Chronicles 5:18).

(2.) A shield surrounding the person; the targe or round form; used once figuratively (Psalms 91:4).

(3.) A large shield protecting the whole body (Psalms 35:2; Ezekiel 23:24; Ezekiel 26:8).

(4.) A lance or spear; improperly rendered "buckler" in the Authorized Version (1 Chronicles 12:8), but correctly in the Revised Version "spear." The leather of shields required oiling (2 Samuel 1:21; Isaiah 21:5), so as to prevent its being injured by moisture. Copper (= "brass") shields were also in use (1 Samuel 17:6; 1 Kings 14:27). Those spoken of in 1 Kings 10:16, etc.; 1 Kings 14:26, were probably of massive metal. The shields David had taken from his enemies were suspended in the temple as mementos (2 Kings 11:10). (See ARMOUR, SHIELD.)