putto

[ poo-toh; Italian poot-taw ]

/ ˈpu toʊ; Italian ˈput tɔ /

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.

Words nearby putto

putti-platt operation, puttie, puttier, putting green, puttnam, putto, putty, putty in someone's hands, putty knife, putty powder, puttyroot

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

/ (ˈpʊtəʊ) /

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