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

An elegant lace bertha covered her white, beautiful neck, while one of her fair arms was clasped by a diamond bracelet.

From Tempest and Sunshine by Holmes, Mary Jane

The long sleeves had been replaced by short lace ones, trimmed to match the pretty lace bertha, and the long handsome gloves quite completed her costume.

From Miss Dexie A Romance of the Provinces by Eveleth, Stanford

About her neck she put a bertha, kerchiefwise, and pinned it with a brooch of curiously wrought gold.

From The Eye of Dread by Erskine, Payne

Related Words

• choker