bertha
noun
a collar or trimming, as of lace, worn about the shoulders by women, as over a low-necked waist or dress.
bertha
1 American
[bur-thuh]
/ ˈbɜr θə /
noun
Bertha
2
American
[bur-thuh]
/ ˈbɜr θə /
noun
bertha
British
/ ˈbɜːθə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of bertha
First recorded in 1835–45; named after Bertha (died a.d. 783), wife of Frankish king Pepin the Short; she was famed for her modesty
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.
See Examples For:
To show that it was the PKF proteins that were doing the killing, University of British Columbia molecular biologist David Theilmann and colleagues infected bertha armyworms with two baculovirus species, MacoNPV-A and MacoNPV-B.
From Science Magazine ● Jul. 29, 2021
Edwardian sleeves and bertha collars, ribbons, roses and trailing black velvet are the tricks of the trade.
From Time Magazine Archive
The skirt embroidered with a flight of swallows in silver and crystals, a deep bertha of Point de Flandre, with ruffles of the same on the short sleeves.
From The Evolution of Fashion by Florence Mary Gardiner
"I sometimes think," returned Gabriella deliberately, while she draped a lace bertha on a white silk frock she was making for Fanny, "that I will try to borrow the money."
From Life and Gabriella The Story of a Woman's Courage by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow
The pointed bodice was draped with tulle, the billowy bertha of tulle was edged with lace.
From Atlantida by Pierre Benôit
Bertha was expected to begin weakening by Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
"Bertha will move near or along the northern Gulf coast during the next several days," said the Miami-based NHC.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
As Ms. Weinman tells it, by the early 1990s state Rep. Bertha Holt had been trying to get a law passed for more than 10 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
Dolores Bertha Schmidt was born in San Francisco on Aug. 21, 1919, the oldest of three children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2025
Bertha holds up a slip of paper that she reads from.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
