amoretto

[am-uh-ret-oh; Italian ah-maw-ret-taw]

noun, plural am·o·ret·ti

[am-uh-ret-ee; Italian ah-maw-ret-tee] /ˌæm əˈrɛt i; Italian ˌɑ mɔˈrɛt ti/.

a little cupid.

Origin of amoretto

1590–1600; < Italian, equivalent to amor(e) love (< Latin amōrem, accusative of amor) + -etto -et; cf. amour

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for amoretti

Historical Examples of amoretti

Mosto reads focine, which is amended by Amoretti to foscine.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XXXIII, 1519-1522
Antonio Pigafetta
Papponi, (of whom Amoretti writes,) a man of such susceptibility, was cured of convulsive attacks by change of place.
Summer on the Lakes, in 1843
S.M. Fuller
Amoretti conjectures that Pigafetta means the fusiniere, boats named after Fusine whence people are ferried to Venice.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XXXIII, 1519-1522
Antonio Pigafetta
Some of the ‘Amoretti’ were doubtless addressed by Spenser in 1593 to the lady who became his wife a year later.
A Life of William Shakespeare
Sidney Lee

British Dictionary definitions for amoretti

amoretto

amorino (ˌæmɔːˈriːnəʊ)

noun plural -retti (-ˈrɛtɪ) or -rini (-ˈriːnɪ)

(esp in painting) a small chubby naked boy representing a cupidAlso called: putto

Word Origin for amoretto

C16: from Italian, diminutive of Amore Cupid, from Latin Amor Love

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for amoretti

amoretto

1590s, from Italian, literally "little love," a diminutive of amore "love" (see Amy). This word was variously applied to love sonnets, cupids, etc. Also cf. Amaretto.