cuish

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cuisse  (kwis), n. [Armor.]

1. Heraldry a piece of armor or padding for protecting the thigh.

Also, cuish  (kwish). See diag. under armor. 

• Latin coxa hipbone) + -el noun, nominal suffix
• Old French quisseuz, cuisseus, plural of cuissel, equivalent. to cuisse thigh (
• earlier also cush, plural cushies (the plural cush(i)e-s misanalyzed as cush-(i)es), Middle English quissheu, kusheu, plural quyssewes, cusschewis 1275–1325

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cuisse / kwɪs/, cuish / kwɪʃ/ noun

1. a piece of armour for the thigh

Etymology: 15th Century: back formation from cuisses (plural), from Old French cuisseaux thigh guards, from cuisse thigh, from Latin coxa hipbone