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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cicisbei
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cicisbeo

From Italian

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cicisbeo cicisbei

These girls as a rule, were married early to men of their own standing, and though the cicisbeo was not unknown after marriage he was not an authorised member of the household.

From The Valley of Decision by Wharton, Edith

"Why not in all?" said the cicisbeo thoughtfully.

From The Valley of Decision by Wharton, Edith

"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

And who are you that talk to me of dishonour?—you that come straying here out of the night with your cicisbeo at your heels?

From Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His Adventures At Home and Abroad and Particularly in the Island of Corsica: Beginning with the Year 1756 by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir

The cicisbeo, or gentleman usher to a lady; from the French.

From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis

We divine the coming age of cicisbei and castrati.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" by Various

The ladies sit within, and the cicisbei stand on the foot-boards, on each side of the coach, entertaining them with their discourse.

From Travels through France and Italy by Smollett, T. (Tobias)

Before long he will be dust, and then it will be the turn of Don Gastone, and frati will give place to cicisbei.

From The Fool Errant Being the Memoirs of Francis-Anthony Strelley, Esq., Citizen of Lucca by Hewlett, Maurice Henry