bertha

¹ American  

[bur-thuh] / ˈbɜr θə /

noun

1. a collar or trimming, as of lace, worn about the shoulders by women, as over a low-necked waist or dress.

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Bertha ² American  

[bur-thuh] / ˈbɜr θə /

noun

1. a first name: from a Germanic word meaning “bright.”

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bertha British  

/ ˈbɜːθə /

noun

1. a wide deep capelike collar, often of lace, usually to cover up a low neckline

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Etymology

Origin of bertha

First recorded in 1835–45; named after Bertha (died a.d. 783), wife of Frankish king Pepin the Short; she was famed for her modesty

Example Sentences

To show that it was the PKF proteins that were doing the killing, University of British Columbia molecular biologist David Theilmann and colleagues infected bertha armyworms with two baculovirus species, MacoNPV-A and MacoNPV-B.

From Science Magazine • Jul. 29, 2021

Edwardian sleeves and bertha collars, ribbons, roses and trailing black velvet are the tricks of the trade.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the first thing in the morning brought a counter-wire— “Sorry must put you off dick and bertha got scarlatina holt.”

From A Veldt Vendetta by Mitford, Bertram

She wore an old black silk frock with muslin bertha.

From A Daughter of the Vine by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn

Leslie unpinned from its cambric cover a gray iron barége, with a narrow puffing round the hem of the full skirt and the little pointed bertha cape.

From A Summer in Leslie Goldthwaite's Life. by Whitney, A. D. T. (Adeline Dutton Train)

Related Words

• choker