Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Espauliere \Es`pau`liere"\, n. [OF. & F. ['e]pauli[`e]re. See
   {Espalier}.]
   A defense for the shoulder, composed of flexible overlapping
   plates of metal, used in the 15th century; -- the origin of
   the modern epaulette. --Fairholt.