Is the Pope a zucchini-head?!?

Why might I pose such an outrageous question?  While perusing The American Heritage Dictionary, 4^th edition (edition number actually does matter, like size in some circumstances), imagine my fascination when I found a picture of a Catholic bishop with the word “zucchetto” underneath.  In this case, “zucchetto” refers to the skull cap which the bishop was wearing.  Of course, I immediately wondered if “zucchetto” and “zucchini” were related, and indeed they are! Both “zucchetto” and “zucchini” are variants of the Italian word, “zucca” which means “gourd.”  In addition, zucchetto has a connection to the head, hence the skull cap.

The color of a zucchetto reflects the rank of the clergy sporting it, with lower ranks wearing black zucchettos, cardinals wearing red, and the Pope wearing white.  (Alas, no green zucchettos.)  Back in the olden days, when priests first committed to celibacy, the crowns of their heads were shaved, creating bald spots called tonsures.  The zucchetto kept the priests’ tonsured heads warm.

The word “zucchetto” opens up the possibilities of a lot of bad jokes and linguistic fun, as not only the Pope, but all Catholic clergy wear a skull cap that ultimately bears relation to a gourd that is one of the most prolific garden squashes.  During the summer garden season, zucchini becomes a god of the gourds.

 

As zucchettos are quite similar in appearance to yarmulkes, I wondered if a link exists between the two words.  However, in this case, similarities end with the shape of the skull caps.  “Yarmulke” is Yiddish with no clear word history.  Some tentative connections have been made, however, to a Turkish word meaning “rain gear” (yagmur, if you care to know).  Other connections have also been made to a medieval Latin word meaning, “cowl, hood.”  The function is also different, as a yarmulke originated and continues as a show of respect.

A Spanish proverb reads, “More things grow in the garden than the gardener sows.”  In this instance, the dictionary has provided a garden of delights regarding certain religious head coverings.  I will let you make your own decisions regarding the Pope and his zucchetto.