a small round skullcap worn by certain ecclesiastics and varying in colour according to the rank of the wearer, the Pope wearing white, cardinals red, bishops violet, and others black
Word origin
C19: from Italian, from zucca a gourd, head, from Late Latin cucutia gourd, probably from Latin cucurbita
zucchetto in American English
(zuˈkɛtoʊ; zuˈkɛtə; Italian tsuˈkɛttɔ)
nounWord forms: pluralzucˈchettos or Italian zucˈchetti (tsuˈkɛtti)
a skullcap worn by Roman Catholic prelates: an abbot's is black, a bishop's purple, a cardinal's red, and the Pope's white
Word origin
altered < It zucchetta, a cap, orig., dim. of zucca, gourd < LL cucutia