1. One who, or that which, carries a shield. 2. (Zoöl.) Any small moth of the genus Aspidisca, whose larva makes a shieldlike covering for itself out of bits of leaves.
The name of several West Indian trees of the order Sapotaceae, as Dipholis nigra and species of Sapota and Mimusops. Most of them yield a substance closely resembling gutta-percha.