Calotte
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -É’t
Origin
French calotte, diminutive of calot, from écale ("husk, shell (of a nut)") (due to similar shape and closely fitting the head), from Old French escale, from Old High German scÄla (cognate to English scale).
Alternatively, may be related to Greek kalyptra (English calyptra).
Full definition of calotte
Noun
calotte
(plural calottes)- a skullcap worn by Roman Catholic priests
- (archaic) The vertical central area of the crown of a bird's head.
- (architecture) A round cavity or depression, in the form of a cup or cap, lathed and plastered; used to diminish the rise or elevation of a moderate chapel, alcove, etc. which would otherwise be too high for other pieces of the apartment.
- (anatomy) The upper (superior) or lower (inferior) half of the globe of the eye.
Synonyms
- (skullcap) zucchetto