cicisbeo

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English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cicisbeo, of onomatopoeic origin.

Pronunciation

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌtʃɪtʃɪzˈbeɪəʊ/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌt͡ʃit͡ʃəzˈbeɪoʊ/
  • Rhymes: -eɪəʊ

Noun

cicisbeo (plural cicisbeos or cicisbei)

  1. (now chiefly historical) A man who escorts a married woman to social functions, especially in 18th-century Italy; a married woman's lover.
    • 1784 December 7, Hester Thrale Piozzi, Thraliana:
      My old Cicisbee says it would do: & he is (or was poor fellow!) a famous Scholar.
    • 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, volume II, 19:
      The office of Cicisbeo is however an intolerably expensive one; especially to our countrymen.
    • 1957, Lawrence Durrell, Justine:
      Of course a cicisbeo is a normal enough figure in Alexandrian life, but things are going to become socially very boring for you if you go out with those two so much.
    • 1962, WH Auden, Elizabeth Mayer, translating JW Goethe, Italian Journey, Penguin, published 1970, page 452:
      He accuses the women of having cicisbei, the girls of having lovers.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from Polish cicisbeo, ultimately from Italian cicisbeo.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key):
  • Rhymes: -eo
  • Hyphenation: ci‧ciz‧be‧o

Noun

cicisbeo (accusative singular cicisbeon, plural cicisbeoj, accusative plural cicisbeojn)

  1. cicisbeo

Italian

FWOTD – 16 September 2020

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /t͡ʃi.t͡ʃiˈzbɛ.o/
  • Rhymes: -ɛo
  • Hyphenation: ci‧ci‧sbè‧o

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic of people chatting.

Noun

cicisbeo m (plural cicisbei)

  1. (historical, 18th century) cicisbeo (knightly servant of a high-born lady)
    Synonym: cavalier servente
    • 1906, Maria Merlato, Mariti e cavalier serventi nelle commedie del Goldoni, page 86:
      Como abbiamo visto, Beatrice ha un cicisbeo.
      As we have seen, Beatrice has a cicisbeo.
  2. (by extension) a dandy, a vain young man who is concerned about his appearance, especially in order to attract women
    Synonyms: bellimbusto, damerino, galletto, vagheggino, zerbinotto
    • 2016, Sandra Heath, La lady mascherata, tr. by Fabrizio Pezzoli, Edizioni Mondadori (publ.), →ISBN.
      Subiva spesso le sgradite attentioni di cicisbei di quel tipo, e senza eccezioni li teneva a debita distanza.
      She often drew the unwanted attention of that kind of dandies, and without fail she kept them at a distance.
  3. (historical, 18th century, figurative) a kind of ribbon
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
  • → French: sigisbée
  • → Spanish: chichifo

Further reading

  • cicisbeo in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

cicisbeo

  1. first-person singular present indicative of cicisbeare
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