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prettygoodwordcicisbeo (chee-chiz-BAY-oh, si-sis-BEE-oh) - n., an escort of a marriage woman; a married woman's lover, a kept man.
Especially in Italy in the 18th century, where it was a recognized arrangement among the nobility (during the most stable part of his life, Byron was the cicisbeo of an Italian countess for a few years). Other equivalent terms on the continent include French chevalier savante and Spanish cortejo. First used in English in 1718 by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, borrowed from just-current slang of a decade old. Origin in Italian is unknown -- suggestions include French chiche beau; Venetian dialect cici, the chattering of women; bel cece, beautiful chick pea; or a phrase meaning in a whisper.
---L.
Especially in Italy in the 18th century, where it was a recognized arrangement among the nobility (during the most stable part of his life, Byron was the cicisbeo of an Italian countess for a few years). Other equivalent terms on the continent include French chevalier savante and Spanish cortejo. First used in English in 1718 by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, borrowed from just-current slang of a decade old. Origin in Italian is unknown -- suggestions include French chiche beau; Venetian dialect cici, the chattering of women; bel cece, beautiful chick pea; or a phrase meaning in a whisper.
---L.
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Date: 2013-06-18 04:33 pm (UTC)