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

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

When May asked it to write a specific kind of sonnet—he requested a form used by Italian poet Petrarch—the model, unfamiliar with that poetic setup, defaulted to the sonnet form preferred by Shakespeare.

From Scientific American

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

From Los Angeles Times

The poet Petrarch recorded how trolling for seashells could help people feel “unconscious of depressing cares.”

From New York Times