What does "cicisbeo" mean?

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

What is a synonym for "cicisbeo"?

Common synonyms include: ponce.

Pronounced //ˌt͡ʃit͡ʃəzˈbeɪoʊ//.

//ˌt͡ʃit͡ʃəzˈbeɪoʊ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A man who escorts a married woman to social functions, especially in 18th-century Italy; a married woman's lover. historical
"My old Cicisbee says it would do: & he is (or was poor fellow!) a famous Scholar."

"My old Cicisbee says it would do: & he is (or was poor fellow!) a famous Scholar."

Borrowed from Italian cicisbeo, of onomatopoeic origin.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.