'Parapet' is Italian for 'breast-protector' — a wall shielding a soldier's chest, from 'petto' (breast).
A low protective wall along the edge of a roof, bridge, balcony, or fortification, designed to prevent people from falling and, in military contexts, to shield defenders from enemy fire.
From Italian 'parapetto' (parapet, breastwork), literally 'breast-protector,' from 'para-' (protecting against, from 'parare,' to defend, to ward off) + 'petto' (breast, chest, from Latin 'pectus'). The word was originally a military term: a parapet was a wall that protected a soldier's breast (chest) from enemy projectiles. The compound is vividly anatomical — the wall is defined by the part of the body it shields