Pronounced (I think) sis-er-oh-knee, a cicerone is a guide who
gives information about antiquities and places of interest to sightseers. The word is derived from the Italian for antiquarian
scholar, guide, after Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman consul, orator,
and writer, alluding to the eloquence and erudition of these guides.
(If you want to learn more about Cicero I thoroughly recommend
Robert Harris’ ‘Imperium’ (2006), a life of Cicero. The book is fiction but is brilliantly
researched and gives a real flavour of what the great man must have been like.)
Thanks, Monica, for bringing this word to mind.
The usual term around here is docent, but i like this better.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's another new word to me. And, I expect to some of my readers.
DeleteDocent - A person who acts as a guide, typically on a voluntary basis, in a museum, art gallery, or zoo; a teacher or lecturer at some universities who is not a regular faculty member.
Thanks very much Messymimi.
The proper Italian pronunciation has something similar to a "ch" as in "chirp", not an "s", for the two Cs, and the last e does not sound like the two Es in "knee", but again like the first e in the middle of the word.
ReplyDelete