cicisbeo

American  

[chee-chiz-bey-oh, si-sis-bee-oh, chee-cheez-be-oh] / ˌtʃi tʃɪzˈbeɪ oʊ, sɪˈsɪs biˌoʊ, ˌtʃi tʃizˈbɛ oʊ /

noun

cicisbei plural

1. an escort or lover of a married woman.

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cicisbeo British  

/ tʃitʃizˈbɛːo /

noun

1. the escort or lover of a married woman, esp in 18th-century Italy

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Etymology

Origin of cicisbeo

From Italian

Example Sentences

"C'est convenable, j'espère hein?" she murmurs, and her bald-headed cicisbeo, who has taken possession of her sheet, hastens to assure her that all is well.

From Affairs of State by Stevenson, Burton Egbert

Ask the name, the husband, the wife, or the cicisbeo, of any person, et voila qui est fini.

From The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford — Volume 1 by Cunningham, Peter

That was the meaning of her smile, and probably of the spiteful words she murmured in the ear of her cicisbeo, telling him my history no doubt, rating mine as a common love affair.

From The Magic Skin by Marriage, Ellen

Father Andrea, who was of Florentine birth, would go with them; and with such a cicisbeo, they would see and understand all the treasures of the past and the present, antique and modern art.

From London Pride Or When the World Was Younger by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)

Heretofore, he had shunned everything that could secure for him the reputation of a cicisbeo.

From Jessamine A Novel by Harland, Marion