cicisbeism
/ˌtʃɪtʃɪzˈbiːɪzəm/
noun
- The practice or custom of a married woman having a recognized male companion or lover, especially in 18th-century Italian society.
- Historians often discuss cicisbeism as a reflection of the era's complex marriage and social norms.
- Cicisbeism was a social custom in 18th-century Italy that allowed married women to have a male escort.
- The novel explores the tensions created by cicisbeism within a wealthy Venetian family.