biretta
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of biretta
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Italian berretta, feminine variant of berretto, from Old Provençal berret, from Medieval Latin birrettum “cap,” equivalent to Late Latin birr(us) “hooded cloak” + -ettum diminutive suffix; apparently by the development: “hooded cloak” to “hood” to “cap”; compare Medieval Latin (circa 800) byrrus “short hood” ( cuculla brevis ); see birrus, -et
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It depicts a blurred, open-mouthed figure in a biretta, a traditional cap worn by Catholic clergy and wearing a politician's usual attire of a shirt and tie.
From Reuters • Mar. 15, 2022
A photograph showed Bishop Joyce, in cassock and biretta, standing in front of a Christmas tree with children on each side.
From The New Yorker • Apr. 8, 2019
When I was in Rome several years ago, I went into one of the hottest clergy-clothing stores to look around, and spotted a biretta!
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2018
The reason the biretta is red is to symbolise each wearer's willingness to give their lives for the Catholic faith.
From BBC • Feb. 22, 2014
He sighed, but resigning himself to the inevitable, lifted his biretta as he came up to the door.
From Earl Hubert's Daughter The Polishing of the Pearl - A Tale of the 13th Century by Holt, Emily Sarah
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
