chiton

UK: /ˈkaɪt^ən/ US: (kīt′n, kī′ton)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

chi•ton  (kīt′n, kī′ton), n. 

1. Invertebrates Also called sea cradle. a mollusk of the class Amphineura, having a mantle covered with calcareous plates, found adhering to rocks.
2. Antiquity, Clothing a gown or tunic, with or without sleeves, worn by both sexes in ancient Greece.

• Sumerian
• Semitic (compare Hebrew kuttōneth tunic); ultimately
• Greek chitó̄n tunic
• 1810–20

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

chiton / ˈkaɪt^ən -tɒn/ noun

1. (in ancient Greece and Rome) a loose woollen tunic worn knee length by men and full length by women
2. Also called: coat-of-mail shell any small primitive marine mollusc of the genus Chiton and related genera, having an elongated body covered with eight overlapping shell plates: class Amphineura

Etymology: 19th Century: from Greek khitōn coat of mail, of Semitic origin; related to Hebrew kethōnet