biretta

or ber·ret·ta, bir·ret·ta

[buh-ret-uh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR biretta ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a stiff square cap with three or four upright projecting pieces extending from the center of the top to the edge, worn by ecclesiastics.

Origin of biretta

1590–1600; < Italian berretta, feminine variant of berretto < Old Provençal berret < Medieval Latin birrettum cap, equivalent to Late Latin birr(us) birrus + -ettum -et; apparently by the development: hooded cloak > hood > cap; compare Medieval Latin (circa 800) byrrus short hood (cuculla brevis)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for biretta

He must also provide the Bishop with a horse, gloves, and a biretta when he rides abroad.
St. Nicholas|George H. McKnight
The man in the group behind the bishop, who is in surplice and hood and biretta, is probably the archdeacon.
Parish Priests and Their People in the Middle Ages in England|Edward L. Cutts
On our heads we wore a fascinating "biretta," or cap with a tall feather.
A Tatter of Scarlet|S. R. Crockett
Only in Spain has the biretta continued to be worn without the raised ridges.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7|Various

He is wearing the academical costume of a master, cincture and biretta, gown and hood of minever.
Oxford and its Story|Cecil Headlam

British Dictionary definitions for biretta

biretta

berretta

noun

RC Church a stiff clerical cap having either three or four upright pieces projecting outwards from the centre to the edge: coloured black for priests, purple for bishops, red for cardinals, and white for certain members of religious orders

Word Origin for biretta

C16: from Italian berretta, from Old Provençal berret, from Late Latin birrus hooded cape

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 biretta

square cap worn by Catholic clergy, 1590s, from Italian beretta, from Late Latin birrus, birrum "large cloak with hood;" perhaps of Gaulish origin, or from Greek pyrros "flame-colored, yellow."