Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The breast.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The breast.
- noun in the breast; hence, in secrecy; in reserve.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Only used in
in petto
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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I had long kept it in petto as my ultimate remedy.
Belinda 1801
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Robert Southey your arguments are answered in petto [2] & you shall have them on paper soon. you cannot conceive how much I miss Combe in packing up. tomorrow morning I depart & when you get this you may fancy me half starvd about Tetbury ruminating upon the days to come & anticipating all the horrors of examination. suppose each College should associate like the Crown & Anchor [3] what will become of Basil?
Letter 36 1792
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And, although I don't speak Italian, I do speak Spanish, and I've listened to enough Italian opera to have picked up a lot of vocab from it; I find myself hanging on every word of that, again, despite the idiocy of many libretti I'm sorry, but "Mille serpenti mi devoran il petto", anyone?
A mixed evening... Imogen 2009
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And, although I don't speak Italian, I do speak Spanish, and I've listened to enough Italian opera to have picked up a lot of vocab from it; I find myself hanging on every word of that, again, despite the idiocy of many libretti I'm sorry, but "Mille serpenti mi devoran il petto", anyone?
Archive 2009-01-01 Imogen 2009
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E adesso tutti in coro: Voglio dormire sul tuo petto stanotte, anche se puzzo di pesce…
No Fat Clips!!! : TAKASHI TANIGUCHI – Mr. Ando of the Woods 2008
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Centre; provided that we are allowed to laugh in petto at both kings and peoples, to think one thing in the morning and another at night, and to lead a merry life a la Panurge, or to recline upon soft cushions, more orientali.
The Magic Skin 2007
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The rabid Liberal became a Monarchist in petto; Lucien set his teeth in the apple of desire of rank, luxury, and fame.
Two Poets 2007
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An old fan-maker having remarked that such a prodigal would soon bring his wife to beggary, father Guillaume prided himself _in petto_ for his prudence in the matter of marriage settlements.
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The rabid Liberal became a Monarchist in petto; Lucien set his teeth in the apple of desire of rank, luxury, and fame.
Two Poets 2007
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An old fan-maker having remarked that such a prodigal would soon bring his wife to beggary, father Guillaume prided himself _in petto_ for his prudence in the matter of marriage settlements.
Gammerstang commented on the word petto
(noun) - The breast; figuratively privacy, as in petto, in reserve.
--William Grimshaw's Ladies' Lexicon and Parlour Companion, 1854
January 14, 2018