Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Pelta \Pel"ta\, n.; pl. {Pelt[ae]}. [L., a shield, fr. Gr. ?.]
   1. (Antiq.) A small shield, especially one of an
      approximately elliptic form, or crescent-shaped.

   2. (Bot.) A flat apothecium having no rim.