The term parapet was introduced to the English language in a book on hunting from the late sixteenth century. It was derived from a Middle French word with the same spelling, which in turn came from the Italian parapetto, meaning “breast defense”. The concept behind this term was that the rampart typically stood at chest height, providing defense for the breast area against attacks. The prefix para-, signifying “defense” in this context, originates from the Latin verb parare, meaning “prepare” (which can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root per, meaning “to produce”). The term petto, referring to “breast”, has its roots in the Latin word pectus, which also gives rise to words like pectoral and expectorate (likely stemming from the Proto-Indo-European reconstruction peg, with a similar meaning of “breast”).
