Petrarch

American  

[pee-trahrk, pe-] / ˈpi trɑrk, ˈpɛ- /

noun

1. Francesco Petrarca, 1304–74, Italian poet and scholar.

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Petrarch British  

/ ˈpɛtrɑːk /

noun

1. Italian name Francesco Petrarca. 1304–74, Italian lyric poet and scholar, who greatly influenced the values of the Renaissance. His collection of poems Canzoniere, inspired by his ideal love for Laura, was written in the Tuscan dialect. He also wrote much in Latin, esp the epic poem Africa (1341) and the Secretum (1342), a spiritual self-analysis

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Other Word Forms

• Petrarchan adjective

Example Sentences

Ultimately, we can only hope that what Petrarch said in his time is true in ours.

From Salon • Dec. 7, 2024

But the first, Liszt’s arrangement for piano of “Pace non trovo,” one of his songs to Petrarch texts, was more than that: wistful yet fresh, altogether elegant.

From New York Times • May 11, 2023

But the diamond-shaped panel does illustrate a line from the poet Petrarch about chasing desire.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 26, 2021

Petrarch was responsible for coming up with the very idea of the “Dark Ages” that had separated his own era from the greatness of the classical past.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

But Italian was the language of Dante and of Petrarch.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton