A sculptured representation of a person's head and shoulders; a bust (sculptural form), particularly referencing the Italian or artistic term.
From Italian 'busto,' from Latin 'bustum' (tomb, funeral pyre), which came to mean 'bust' (the upper body representation) in artistic usage; entered English through art historical terminology.
The word 'bust' literally originated from funeral monuments—Romans placed busts on tombs to immortalize the dead, so every classroom bust of a famous composer carries that ancient memory of memorializing loss.
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