Cicisbeo

In 18th- and 19th-century Italy, the cicisbeo (UK: /ˌtʃɪtʃɪzˈbeɪoʊ/ CHITCH-iz-BAY-oh,^[1] US: /ˌtʃiːtʃ-/ CHEE-chiz-,^[2] Italian: [tʃitʃiˈzbɛːo]; plural: cicisbei) or cavalier servente (French: chevalier servant) was the man who was the professed gallant or lover^[3] of a woman married to someone else. With the knowledge and consent of the husband, the cicisbeo attended his mistress at public entertainments,^[4] to church and other occasions, and had privileged access to this woman. The arrangement is comparable to the Spanish cortejo or estrecho and, to a lesser degree, to the French petit-maître.^[5] The exact etymology of the word is unknown; some evidence suggests it originally meant "in a whisper"^[6] (perhaps an onomatopeic word). Other accounts suggest it is an inversion of bel cece,^[7] which means "beautiful chick (pea)". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded usage of the term in English was found in a letter by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu dated 1718. The term appears in Italian in Giovanni Maria Muti's Quaresimale Del Padre Maestro Fra Giovanni Maria Muti De Predicatori of 1708 (p. 734).

^ "cicisbeo". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-12-05.
^ "cicisbeo". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
^ Roberto Bizzocchi (2014). "5". A Lady's Man: The Cicisbei, Private Morals and National Identity in Italy. Translated by Noor Giovanni Mazhar. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 320. ISBN 978-1-137-45092-0.
^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cicisbeo" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 360.
^ Patriarca, Silvana (2005). "Indolence and Regeneration: Tropes and Tensions of Risorgimento Patriotism". The American Historical Review. 110 (2): 380–408. doi:10.1086/531319.
^ Gaite
^ DIZIONARIO ETIMOLOGICO ONLINE

[1] "cicisbeo". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-12-05.

[2] "cicisbeo". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 20 August 2019.

[3] Roberto Bizzocchi (2014). "5". A Lady's Man: The Cicisbei, Private Morals and National Identity in Italy. Translated by Noor Giovanni Mazhar. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 320. ISBN 978-1-137-45092-0.

[4] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cicisbeo" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 360.

[5] Patriarca, Silvana (2005). "Indolence and Regeneration: Tropes and Tensions of Risorgimento Patriotism". The American Historical Review. 110 (2): 380–408. doi:10.1086/531319.

[6] Gaite

[7] DIZIONARIO ETIMOLOGICO ONLINE

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