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berretta

 - 5 dictionary results

ber⋅ret⋅ta

[buh-ret-uh]
–noun Roman Catholic Church.
biretta.

bi⋅ret⋅ta

[buh-ret-uh]
–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:
1590–1600; < It berretta, fem. var. of berretto < OPr berret < ML birrettum cap, equiv. to LL birr(us) birrus + -ettum -et; appar. by the development: hooded cloak > hood > cap; cf. ML (ca. 800) byrrus short hood (cuculla brevis)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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be·ret·ta or ber·ret·ta   (bə-rět'ə)   
n.  Variants of biretta.
bi·ret·ta also be·ret·ta or ber·ret·ta   (bə-rět'ə)   
n.   Ecclesiastical
A stiff square cap with three or four ridges across the crown. Birettas are worn especially by Roman Catholic clergy and are black for priests, purple for bishops, and red for cardinals.

[Italian berretta, from Old Provençal berret, cap, from Late Latin birrus, hooded cloak, probably of Celtic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

biretta 
square cap worn by Catholic clergy, 1598, from It. beretta, from L.L. birrus, birrum "large cloak with hood, perhaps of Gaulish origin, or from Gk. pyrros "flame-colored, yellow."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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