scŭtŭla, ae, f. dim. [scutra; cf. scutella].
I Lit., a little dish or platter of a nearly square form (cf. lanx), Cato R. R. 68, 1; Mart. 11, 31, 19; 8, 71, 7.—
II Transf., of figures thus shaped, a diamond- , rhomb- , or lozenge-shaped figure : (pavimenta) si sectilia sunt, nulli gradus in scutulis aut trigonis aut quadratis seu favis exstent, Vitr. 7, 1; so of a tesselated floor, Pall. 1, 9, 5; of checkered stuffs, Plin. 8, 48, 74, § 196 (cf. scutulatus); id. 17, 16, 26, § 118.—Of the shape of a country: formam totius Britanniae eloquentissimi auctores oblongae scutulae vel bipenni assimulavere, Tac. Agr. 10.—Of a patch on the eye , for a disguise: scutula ob oculos lanea, Plaut. Mil. 4, 4, 42.