cicisbeo

English

Alternative forms

• cicisbee, sigisbeo

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cicisbeo, of onomatopoeic origin.

Pronunciation

• (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

• cicisbeism

Related terms

• cicisbea

Translations

Married woman's gallant or lover

• Esperanto: cicisbeo
• French: sigisbée (fr) m, cicisbée (fr) m, chevalier servant (fr) m, cavalier servant (fr) m
• German: Cicisbeo m, Hausfreund (de) m
• Ido: cicisbeo (io)
• Italian: cicisbeo (it) m, cavalier servente m
• Polish: cicisbeo m
• Russian: чичисбе́й (ru) m (čičisbéj)
• Spanish: chichisbeo m
• Ukrainian: чичисбе́й m (čyčysbéj), чічісбе́й m (čičisbéj)

Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from Polish cicisbeo, ultimately from Italian cicisbeo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [t͡sit͡sizˈbeo]
• 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

• cicisbeare
• cicisbeismo

 

Related terms

• cicisbea
• cicisbeatura

 

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