pectoral

English

Etymology

All senses are ultimately from Latin pectorālis, but some may have come through Old French and Middle English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛk.tə.ɹəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /pɛkˈtoɹəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Adjective

pectoral (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to the breast, or chest.

   the pectoral muscles

   • 1985, Stephen Marley, Managra, page 14:

     Clad in red robes and a gold pectoral cross, Agostini finally lowered his gaze as he crossed the marble floor.

   • 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:

     ... footballers, fashionable Counsel, corrupt parliamentarians, glistening Under Secretaries from helpful Whitehall Ministries, Greek shipowners, cockney hairdressers, unlisted maharajahs, drunk magistrates, venal mayors, ruling princes of countries that have ceased to exist, prelates in suède boots and pectoral crosses...

2. Relating to, or good for, diseases of the chest or lungs.
   • 1852, Theophilus Thompson, Annals of Influenza Or Epidemic Catarrhal Fever in Great Britain from 1510 to 1837, page 107:

     But, in general, a few days' confinement, abstinence from flesh meat, and frequent sippings of some tepid pectoral drink, sufficed for the cure.

3. (zoology) Having the breast conspicuously colored.

   the pectoral sandpiper

Derived terms

• antepectoral
• clavipectoral
• coracopectoral
• deltopectoral
• interpectoral
• lateral pectoral nerve
• neopectoral
• pectoral angina
• pectorally
• pectoral quail
• pectoral theology
• subpectoral

Translations

of or pertaining to the breast or chest

• Arabic: صَدْرِيّ (ar) (ṣadriyy)

  Egyptian Arabic: صدري m (ṣadri), صدرية f (ṣadreya)

• Belarusian: грудны́ (hrudný)
• Bulgarian: гръ́ден (grắden)
• Catalan: pectoral (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 胸的 (zh) (xiōng de)

• Czech: prsní (cs), hrudní (cs)
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: rinta- (fi); pektoraalinen (fi)
• French: pectoral (fr)
• German: pektoral (de), Brust- (de)
• Ido: pektorala (io)
• Irish: uchtach
• Italian: pectorale
• Latin: pectorālis
• Macedonian: граден (graden)
• Polish: piersiowy (pl)
• Romanian: pectoral (ro)
• Russian: грудно́й (ru) (grudnój), пектора́льный (pektorálʹnyj) (medical term)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пр̀снӣ, гру̑днӣ

  Latin: pr̀snī (sh), grȗdnī (sh)

• Slovak: prsný, hrudný (sk)
• Slovene: prsen
• Spanish: pectoral (es)
• Tagalog: pandibdib
• Ukrainian: грудни́й (hrudnýj)

Noun

pectoral (plural pectorals)

1. A pectoral fin.
2. Protective armor for a horse's breast.

   Synonym: poitrel

   • 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 30:

     The Poitrinal, Pectoral, or Breast Plate was formed of plates of metal rivetted together, which covered the breast and shoulders of the horse, it was commonly adorned with foliage, or other ornaments engraved or embossed.

3. A covering or protection for the breast.
4. A breastplate, especially that worn by the Jewish high priest.
5. (ecclesiastical) A clasp, cross, or ornamental square of cloth etc. worn upon the breast.
6. (historical) An ancient Egyptian item of jewelry worn upon the chest, often part of (or constituting) a necklace or collar.
7. A medicine for diseases of the chest organs, especially the lungs.

Derived terms

• genupectoral
• pec
• pectoral arch
• pectoral cross
• pectoral fin
• pectoral girdle
• pectoral muscle
• pectoral rail
• pectoral sandpiper
• prepectoral
• retropectoral

See also

• pectoral on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Pectoral in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• cartpole

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pectorālis. Doublet of pitral.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [pək.tuˈɾal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pək.toˈɾal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [pek.toˈɾal]

Adjective

pectoral m or f (masculine and feminine plural pectorals)

1. (relational) breast, chest; pectoral

Further reading

• “pectoral”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pectorālis. Doublet of poitrail.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛk.tɔ.ʁal/

Noun

pectoral m (plural pectoraux)

1. (anatomy) pectoral

Adjective

pectoral (feminine pectorale, masculine plural pectoraux, feminine plural pectorales)

1. (anatomy) pectoral

Derived terms

• nageoire pectorale

Further reading

• “pectoral”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French pectoral, from Latin pectoralis.

Adjective

pectoral m or n (feminine singular pectorală, masculine plural pectorali, feminine/neuter plural pectorale)

1. pectoral

Declension

Declension of pectoral

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	pectoral		pectorală	pectorali	pectorale
	definite	pectoralul		pectorala	pectoralii	pectoralele
genitive- dative	indefinite	pectoral		pectorale	pectorali	pectorale
	definite	pectoralului		pectoralei	pectoralilor	pectoralelor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pectorālis. Doublet of the inherited petral and pretal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peɡtoˈɾal/ [peɣ̞.t̪oˈɾal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: pec‧to‧ral

Adjective

pectoral m or f (masculine and feminine plural pectorales)

1. pectoral (of or relating to the breast or chest)

Derived terms

• aleta pectoral

Related terms

• pecho

Further reading

• “pectoral”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025