Medici
Americannoun
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Catherine de'. Catherine de Médicis.
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Cosmo or Cosimo de' the Elder, 1389–1464, Italian banker, statesman, and patron of art and literature.
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Cosmo or Cosimo de' the Great, 1519–74, duke of Florence and first grand duke of Tuscany.
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Giovanni de' Leo X.
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Giulio de' Clement VII.
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Lorenzo de' Lorenzo the Magnificent, 1449–92, poet and patron of the arts and literature: ruler of Florence 1478–92 (father of Leo X).
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Maria de' Marie de Médicis.
noun
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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
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Catherine de' (kaˈtriːn de). See Catherine de' Medici
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Cosimo I (ˈkɔːzimo), known as Cosimo the Great. 1519–74, duke of Florence and first grand duke of Tuscany (1569–74)
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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)
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Giovanni de', (dʒoˈvanni de). See Leo X
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Giulio de' (ˈdʒuːljo de). See Clement VII
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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
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Maria de' (maˈriːa de). See Maria de' Medici
Discover More
The family produced two queens of France: Catherine, in the sixteenth century, and Marie, in the seventeenth.
Other Word Forms
- Medicean adjective
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On Friday, an anonymous collector who goes by Cozomo de’ Medici announced on X that he’d bought two of the dogs, Picasso and Warhol, and former Sotheby’s chief executive Tad Smith bought an “Elon.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
Florence's Uffizi Gallery said a tourist fell backwards while trying to "make a meme in front" of a portrait of Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, by Anton Domenico Gabbiani.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2025
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 • Dec. 31, 2024
Told during a Zoom interview that Sofia seemed more like Lucrezia Borgia and Catherine de’ Medici than a comic book character, Milioti matter-of-factly says, “That’s certainly incredible company to be in.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2024
The region was ruled by the Duke of Florence, Cosimo de’ Medici, who had also been crowned Duke of Tuscany by the Pope in 1570 for his part in successful military campaigns against the Moors.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.