Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Pavise \Pa*vise\, n. [OF. pavaix, F. pavois; cf. It. pavese, LL.
   pavense; perh. named from Pavia in Italy.] (Mil. Antiq.)
   A large shield covering the whole body, carried by a pavisor,
   who sometimes screened also an archer with it. [Written also
   {pavais}, {pavese}, and {pavesse}.] --Fairholt.