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Definition of "pallium" [pal•li•um]

  • A cloak or mantle worn by the ancient Greeks and Romans. (noun)
  • Ecclesiastical A vestment worn by the pope and conferred by him on archbishops and sometimes on bishops. Also called pall1. (noun)
  • The mantle of gray matter forming the cerebral cortex. (noun)
  • The mantle of a mollusk, brachiopod, or bird. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "pallium" in a sentence
  • "The word pallium, or palla, was originally used of all kinds of coverings, notably of what we now call the altar-cloths, and also of the corporal."
  • "The man in the picture is wearing the pallium, which is the strip of cloth with black crosses that encircles his neck and hands down in front."
  • "Popes also began wearing a white woolen cloak, call a pallium, to symbolize their ecclesiastical rank."