putto

[poo-toh; Italian poot-taw]

noun, plural put·ti [poo-tee; Italian poot-tee] /ˈpu ti; Italian ˈput ti/. Fine Arts.

a representation of a cherubic infant, often shown winged.

Origin of putto

1635–45; < Italian: literally, boy < Latin putus

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

Examples from the Web for putti

The paradox of the pulpits consists in the frieze of putti above the reliefs: putti who dance, play, romp, and run about.
Donatello|David Lindsay, Earl of Crawford
A marble doorway surrounded by two putti bearing a shield, leads to the Hall of Saints.
Pintoricchio|Evelyn March Phillipps
Round the upper frieze are putti hunting, bearing garlands, &c.
The Shores of the Adriatic|F. Hamilton Jackson
Within is a frieze of putti bearing garlands, with shell-head niches and channelled pilasters below.
The Shores of the Adriatic|F. Hamilton Jackson

With four putti climbing over a circular balcony, seen in steep perspective, and covered with beautiful vine leaves and flowers.
Giorgione|Herbert Cook

British Dictionary definitions for putti

putto

noun plural -ti (-tɪ)

a representation of a small boy, a cherub or cupid, esp in baroque painting or sculptureSee also amoretto

Word Origin for putto

from Italian, from Latin putus boy

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 putti

1640s, from Italian putti "small boys," plural of putto, from Latin putus "boy, child" (see puerility).