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Compound of 胸(mune, “chest”) + 当て(ate, “placing or applying one thing to another”, the 連用形(ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 当てる(ateru, “to place or apply one thing to another”)), literally meaning "thing placed or applied to the chest".[1][2][3] Attested from 1603 in the Nippo Jisho.[1]
Sometimes also encountered with a vowel shift, as munaate.[1][2] This reading is attested slightly earlier, from 1597,[1] and reflects the older muna reading for 胸 that is only found in older compounds.
The breastplate sense is specific to western-style armor. This term is not used for Japanese armor, where instead the portion covering the torso is called the 胴(dō).