petasus

[ pet-uh-suhs ]

/ ˈpɛt ə səs /

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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.

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Also pet·a·sos

[pet-uh-suhs, -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. 2022

How to use petasus in a sentence

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
On journeys women wore a light broad-brimmed petasos as a protection from the sun.
Museum of Antiquity|L. W. Yaggy
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
He also wore a petasos, part of which is seen behind the shoulders.
A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2)|A. H. Smith

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

British Dictionary definitions for petasus

petasus

petasos (ˈpɛtəsəs, -ˌsɒs)

/ (ˈpɛtəsəs) /

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