Medici

[med-i-chee, me-dee-chee]

noun

1. Catherine de'. Catherine de Médicis.

2. Cosmo or Cosimo de' the Elder, 1389–1464, Italian banker, statesman, and patron of art and literature.

3. Cosmo or Cosimo de' the Great, 1519–74, duke of Florence and first grand duke of Tuscany.

4. Giovanni de' Leo X.

5. Giulio de' Clement VII.

6. Lorenzo de' Lorenzo the Magnificent, 1449–92, poet and patron of the arts and literature: ruler of Florence 1478–92 (father of Leo X).

7. Maria de' Marie de Médicis.

Medici

/ ˈmɛdɪtʃɪ, ˈmɛːditʃi, məˈdiːtʃɪ /

noun

1. an Italian family of bankers, merchants, and rulers of Florence and Tuscany, prominent in Italian political and cultural history in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, including

2. Catherine de' (kaˈtriːn de). See Catherine de' Medici

3. Cosimo I (ˈkɔːzimo), known as Cosimo the Great. 1519–74, duke of Florence and first grand duke of Tuscany (1569–74)

4. Cosimo de' , known as Cosimo the Elder. 1389–1464, Italian banker, statesman, and patron of arts, who established the political power of the family in Florence (1434)

5. Giovanni de', (dʒoˈvanni de). See Leo X

6. Giulio de' (ˈdʒuːljo de). See Clement VII

7. Lorenzo de' (loˈrɛntso de), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. 1449–92, Italian statesman, poet, and scholar; ruler of Florence (1469–92) and first patron of Michelangelo

8. Maria de' (maˈriːa de). See Maria de' Medici

Medici

1. A family of skilled politicians and patrons of the arts who lived in Florence, Italy, during the Renaissance. (See Lorenzo de Medici.)

The family produced two queens of France: Catherine, in the sixteenth century, and Marie, in the seventeenth.

Other Word Forms

• Medicean adjective

Example Sentences

From the Medici and the Rockefellers to the Castors and the Gandhis, many powerful families throughout history have hitched their fortunes to those of the ruling class— or even transcended to become rulers themselves.

From Salon

The cast of Renaissance characters is also large and somewhat ungainly, populated with outsize historical players that include Michelangelo, Savonarola, Raphael, Niccolò Machiavelli, Cesare Borgia, various popes, assorted Medicis and many more.

From Los Angeles Times

Salusa Secundus, the Imperium’s seat, resembles a cross between a “Blade Runner” red light district and a Florentine court when the Medicis were running the show.

From Salon

Samantha Morton, with her velvet ruthlessness, headlines a second season of this bloody, satirical fantasia on the life of Catherine de’ Medici.

From New York Times

As mayor, Schmidt said, he would aim to bring back “the splendor” of the epoch when the Medici family and its successors ruled the city.

From New York Times