armature

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
armature /ˈɑːmətʃə, -tj(ʊ)ə/

▶noun

• 1 the rotating coil or coils of a dynamo or electric motor.

  ■ any moving part of an electrical machine in which a voltage is induced by a magnetic field.

  ■ a piece of iron acting as a keeper for a magnet.

• 2 a framework on which a clay sculpture is moulded.

  ■ a framework or formal structure, especially of a literary work: Shakespeare's plots have served as the armature for many novels.

• 3 Biology the protective covering of an animal or plant.

• 4 archaic armour.

– origin ME: from Fr., from L. armatura ‘armour’, from armare (see arm2).