From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Cuirass \Cui*rass"\ (kw[-e]*r[.a]s", or kw[=e]"r[a^]s; 277), n.;
pl. {Cuirasses}(-[e^]z). [F.cuirasse, orig., a breastplate of
leather, for OF. cuir['e]e, cuirie influenced by It. corazza,
or Sp. coraza, fr. an assumed LL. coriacea, fr. L. coriaceus,
adj., of leather, fr. corium leather, hide; akin to Gr.
cho`rion intestinal membrane, OSlav. skora hide, Lith. skura
hide, leather. Cf. {Coriaceous}.]
1.
(a) A piece of defensive armor, covering the body from the
neck to the girdle.
(b) The breastplate taken by itself.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The cuirass covered the body before and behind. It
consisted of two parts, a breast- and backpiece of iron
fastened together by means of straps and buckles or
other like contrivances. It was originally, as the name
imports, made of leather, but afterward of metal.
--Grose.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool) An armor of bony plates, somewhat resembling a
cuirass.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
cuirass
n 1: medieval body armor that covers the chest and back
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