Sicilian Vespers

American

noun

a general massacre of the French in Sicily by the local population, begun at the sound of the vesper bell on Easter Monday, 1282.

Sicilian Vespers British

noun

(functioning as singular) a revolt in 1282 against French rule in Sicily, in which the ringing of the vesper bells on Easter Monday served as the signal to massacre and drive out the French

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The online service debuted on Tuesday with Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi opera' "The Sicilian Vespers", conducted by director Fabio Lusi.

From Reuters • Feb. 17, 2023

On her first opening night at La Scala, last December, 30-year-old Soprano Callas made a smashing hit in Verdi's Sicilian Vespers.

From Time Magazine Archive

At the age of 28, she opened the Scala season in Sicilian Vespers.

From Time Magazine Archive

All the world knows that great act of retribution by the name of the Sicilian Vespers.

From Naples Past and Present by Norway, Arthur H.

What were the Sicilian Vespers, the properties of the atmosphere, the length of the Mississippi, and the Pelagian heresy?

From Three Addresses to Girls at School by Wilson, J. M. (James Maurice)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023