petasus

[pet-uh-suh s]

noun, plural pet·a·sus·es.

a broad-brimmed hat worn by ancient Greek travelers and hunters, often represented in art as a winged hat worn by Hermes or Mercury.

Also pet·a·sos

[pet-uh-suh s, -sos] /ˈpɛt ə səs, -ˌsɒs/.

Origin of petasus

1590–1600; < Latin < Greek pétasos, akin to petannýnai to spread out

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

Examples from the Web for petasos

Historical Examples of petasos

A boy emerging into manhood leaves his petasos and strigil and chlamys to Hermes, the god of games.
Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol II of 2)
John Addington Symonds
Another kind of cradle, in the form of a shoe, is shown containing the infant Hermes, recognizable by his petasos.
Museum of Antiquity
L. W. Yaggy
No. 53, a figure wearing a petasos, does not appear in the plate of Michaelis.
A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2)
A. H. Smith
One of these (No. 17) wears the petasos, a flapping, broad-brimmed hat used by travellers.
A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2)
A. H. Smith
Youthful beardless head wearing a petasos and looking to the right.
A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2)
A. H. Smith

British Dictionary definitions for petasos

petasus

petasos (ˈpɛtəsəs, -ˌsɒs)

noun

a broad-brimmed hat worn by the ancient Greeks, such as one with wings on either side as traditionally worn by Mercury

Word Origin for petasus

C16: via Latin from Greek petasos

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