cicerone

See also: Cicerone and cicérone

English

Etymology

1726, from Italian cicerone (surface analysis cicero + -one (augmentative)), from Latin Cicerōnem, form of Cicerō, agnomen of Marcus Tullius Cicero), the Roman orator, from cicer (“chickpea”) from Proto-Indo-European *ḱiker- (“pea”). Possibly humorous reference to loquaciousness of guides.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɪt͡ʃəˈɹəʊni/, /sɪsəˈɹəʊni/

Noun

cicerone (plural cicerones or ciceroni)

1. A guide who accompanies visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc., and explains matters of archaeological, antiquarian, historic or artistic interest.
   • 1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days, Part I, Chapter 7:

     East, still doing the cicerone, pointed out all the remarkable characters to Tom as they passed […]

   • 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 3:

     he was in the act of making his evening plans with the same smelly but nice cicerone in a café-au-lait suit whom he had hired already twice at the same Genoese hotel [...].

   • 1987, Michael Brodsky, Xman, page 360:

     Ultimately their gazes all rested on his cicerone as most powerful member of the group.

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 279:

     “First,” advised their cicerone in the matter, Professor Svegli of the University of Pisa, “try to forget the usual picture in two dimensions.”

Derived terms

• ciceronage
• ciceroneship
• ciceronism

 

Related terms

• Ciceronian

Translations

guide

• Esperanto: ĉiĉerono
• French: cicérone (fr) m
• Galician: cicerone m
• German: Cicerone (de) m
• Greek: ξεναγός (el) m or f (xenagós)
• Latin: dux (la) m
• Portuguese: cicerone (pt)
• Russian: гид (ru) m (gid), проводни́к (ru) m (provodník)

Verb

cicerone (third-person singular simple present cicerones, present participle ciceroning, simple past and past participle ciceroned)

1. (transitive, intransitive, archaic) To show (somebody) the sights, acting as a tourist guide.
   • 1841, Charles Lever, chapter 17, in Charles O'Malley, the Irish Dragoon, volume 1, page 151:

     Accordingly, as three o'clock struck, six dashing-looking light dragoons were seen slowly sauntering up the dining-hall, escorted by Webber, who, in full academic costume, was leisurely ciceroning his friends and expatiating upon the excellences of the very remarkable portraits which graced the walls.

Anagrams

• croceine

Basque

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish cicerone, from Italian cicerone.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /s̻is̻eɾone/ [s̻i.s̻e.ɾo.ne]

• IPA^(key): (most dialects) /s̻is̻eɾone/ [s̻i.s̻e.ɾo.ne]
• IPA^(key): (Biscayan) /s̺is̺eɾone/ [s̺i.s̺e.ɾo.ne]

• Rhymes: -one
• Hyphenation: ci‧ce‧ro‧ne

Noun

cicerone anim

1. cicerone

Declension

Declension of cicerone (animate, ending in vowel)

	indefinite	singular	plural
absolutive	cicerone	ciceronea	ciceroneak
ergative	ciceronek	ciceroneak	ciceroneek
dative	ciceroneri	ciceroneari	ciceroneei
genitive	ciceroneren	ciceronearen	ciceroneen
comitative	ciceronerekin	ciceronearekin	ciceroneekin
causative	ciceronerengatik	ciceronearengatik	ciceroneengatik
benefactive	ciceronerentzat	ciceronearentzat	ciceroneentzat
instrumental	ciceronez	ciceroneaz	ciceroneez
inessive	ciceronerengan	ciceronearengan	ciceroneengan
locative	—	—	—
allative	ciceronerengana	ciceronearengana	ciceroneengana
terminative	ciceronerenganaino	ciceronearenganaino	ciceroneenganaino
directive	ciceronerenganantz	ciceronearenganantz	ciceroneenganantz
destinative	ciceronerenganako	ciceronearenganako	ciceroneenganako
ablative	ciceronerengandik	ciceronearengandik	ciceroneengandik
partitive	ciceronerik	—	—
prolative	ciceronetzat	—	—

Further reading

• “cicerone”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], Euskaltzaindia

Galician

Alternative forms

• cicerón

Etymology

1775, from Spanish cicerone, from Italian cicerone, named after Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Noun

cicerone m or f (plural cicerones)

1. cicerone (guide who shows people tourist or cultural sights)
   • 1775, Diego Antonio Cernadas y Castro, Eu non pensei, meu Farruco:

     Gardaimo de adulazons
     dos que obran polos seus fins,
     gardaimo de mas latins
     e peores cicerons

     Guard him of the flatteries
     of the ones who work for their own shake,
     guard him of bad jargons
     and worst cicerones

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “cicerone”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Italian

Etymology

From Latin Cicerōnem, form of Cicerō, agnomen of Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman orator, from cicer (“chickpea”), a reference to his warts, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱiker- (“pea”). By surface analysis, Latin Cicero +‎ -one (agentive suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.t͡ʃeˈro.ne/
• Rhymes: -one
• Hyphenation: ci‧ce‧ró‧ne

Noun

cicerone m (plural ciceroni)

1. a guide who shows people around tourist sights
2. (informal) a know-it-all or smart ass

Descendants

• → Catalan: cicerone
• → English: cicerone
• → Esperanto: ĉiĉerono
• → French: cicérone
• → Spanish: cicerone

Further reading

• cicerone in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• concerei, concerie

Portuguese

Etymology

From Italian cicerone, named after Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /si.seˈɾõ.ni/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /si.seˈɾõ.ni/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /si.seˈɾo.ne/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /si.sɨˈɾɔ.nɨ/

• Hyphenation: ci‧ce‧ro‧ne

Noun

cicerone m or f by sense (plural cicerones)

1. cicerone (guide who shows people tourist sights)

Related terms

• Cícero
• ciceroneado
• ciceronear
• ciceroniano
• cicerônico

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cicerone or French cicérone.

Noun

cicerone m (plural ciceroni)

1. cicerone

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	cicerone	ciceroneul		ciceroni	ciceronii
genitive-dative	cicerone	ciceroneului		ciceroni	ciceronilor
vocative	ciceroneule			ciceronilor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cicerone.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /θiθeˈɾone/ [θi.θeˈɾo.ne]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /siseˈɾone/ [si.seˈɾo.ne]
• Rhymes: -one
• Syllabification: ci‧ce‧ro‧ne

Noun

cicerone m or f by sense (plural cicerones)

1. guide, cicerone (person)

   Synonym: guía

Further reading

• “cicerone”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10