cicerone

/t͡ʃɪt͡ʃəˈɹəʊni/

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.

cicerone means A guide who accompanies visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc., and explains matters of archaeological, antiquarian, historic or artistic interest. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.

Why this word is great

CICERONE — [Noun] A guide who provides learned commentary on the historical and artistic significance of antiquities and places. From Italian cicerone, an augmentative form of Cicerone ("Cicero"), from Latin Cicerōnem, the name of the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero, humorously alluding to a guide's loquaciousness. Unlike a docent, whose expertise is often bound to an institution, or a courier, whose role is logistical shepherding, a cicerone traffics in contextual revelation. He is the mellifluous voice animating the cold marble of a fallen column, the patient figure deciphering weathered Latin on a tombstone, the conjurer of a vanished agora from a field of broken stone. To follow one is to be shepherded through time by a ghost who knows all the names, making the past briefly coherent before it dissolves again into mute silence.

noun

A guide who accompanies visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc., and explains matters of archaeological, antiquarian, historic or artistic interest.“East, still doing the cicerone, pointed out all the remarkable characters to Tom as they passed[…]”

verb

To show (somebody) the sights, acting as a tourist guide.“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.”