Added 9 October 2026
putto
/ˈpʊtəʊ/ noun
Latin root: putus Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about putto at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A representation, especially in Renaissance or Baroque art, of a small, naked, often winged (usually male) child; a cherub.
Origin
Borrowed from Italian putto (“cupid, putto; boy”), from Latin putus (“boy”), a variant of pūsus (“(little) boy”), from puer (“boy, lad; child”), from Proto-Italic *puweros, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, little; smallness”). The plural form putti is also borrowed from Italian putti.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)