Busts

/bʌsts/ noun, verb

Definition

Sculptures showing a person's head and shoulders; also means breaking something or catching someone doing something wrong.

Etymology

From Italian 'busto' (trunk or torso), from Latin 'bustum' (funeral pyre). As a verb 'bust,' it comes from 'burst' (Old English 'berstan') meaning to break apart.

Kelly Says

Roman emperors commissioned marble busts because they believed sculptures captured a person's soul and essence—that's why museums filled entire rooms with them, treating them like captured immortality.

Ethical Language Guidance

Gender History

Slang for breast; historically used to reduce women to body parts or sexualize them. Overlaps with art term (sculpture), creating ambiguity that can reinforce objectification.

Inclusive Usage

Use 'sculptures' or 'busts' only in clear art-historical context; avoid in informal settings where sexualization may result.

Inclusive Alternatives

["sculptures","statues"]

Related Words

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