Standard Lemma guide

cicisbeo

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˌtʃɪtʃɪzˈbeɪəʊ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˌt͡ʃit͡ʃəzˈbeɪoʊ/
  • rhymes with -eɪəʊ

1

noun

Meaning 1

A man who escorts a married woman to social functions, especially in 18th-century Italy; a married woman's lover.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cicisbeo, of onomatopoeic origin.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Esperanto: cicisbeo — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • French: sigisbée — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • French: cicisbée — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • French: chevalier servant — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • French: cavalier servant — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • German: Cicisbeo — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • German: Hausfreund — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • Ido: cicisbeo — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • Italian: cicisbeo — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • Italian: cavalier servente — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • Polish: cicisbeo — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • Russian: чичисбе́й (čičisbéj) — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • Spanish: chichisbeo — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • Ukrainian: чичисбе́й (čyčysbéj) — Married woman's gallant or lover
  • Ukrainian: чічісбе́й (čičisbéj) — Married woman's gallant or lover