pallium

noun

pal·​li·​um ˈpa-lē-əm 

plural pallia ˈpa-lē-ə  or palliums

1

a

: a white woolen band with pendants in front and back worn over the chasuble by a pope or archbishop as a symbol of full episcopal authority

b

: a draped rectangular cloth worn as a cloak by men of ancient Greece and Rome

2

[New Latin, from Latin, cloak]

a

: cerebral cortex

b(1)

: the mantle of a mollusk or brachiopod

(2)

: the mantle of a bird

Examples of pallium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The body is dressed in red papal vestments, along with a bishop's mitre and pallium, a white wool scarf-like band that symbolizes papal authority. —George Petras, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025

Zaremba and her team also found that in the bird pallium, neurons that start development in different regions can mature into the same type of neuron in the adult. —Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 7 Apr. 2025

However, neither group seemed to want to resolve the discrepancy between their two theories of how vertebrate palliums evolved, according to García-Moreno. —Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 7 Apr. 2025

But recent studies have split on which part of the pallium is responsible for storing spatial memory. —Lily Carey, Discover Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for pallium

• allium
• gallium
• thallium

Medical Definition

pallium

noun

pal·​li·​um ˈpal-ē-əm 

plural pallia -ē-ə  or palliums

: cerebral cortex