Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- Italian family, influential from the 14th to the 16th century, that included the son and daughter of Pope Alexander VI. Cesare (1475?–1507), a religious, military, and political leader, was the model for Machiavelli's The Prince. Lucrezia (1489–1519), the Duchess of Ferrara, was a patron of learning and the arts.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts (1480-1519)
- noun Italian pope whose nepotism put the Borgia family in power in Italy (1378-1458)
- noun Italian cardinal and military leader; model for Machiavelli's prince (1475-1507)
- noun Pope and father of Cesare Borgia and Lucrezia Borgia (1431-1503)
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Borgia.
Examples
-
"Dinastia Borgia" is a collaborative effort, featuring two Barcelona-based early music ensembles, and produced and distributed by the Barcelona record label, Alia Vox.
Blurring Traditional Boundaries J. S. Marcus 2010
-
Our lead character, Rodrigo Borgia, is made Pope Alexander VI, whom Puzo calls the first Don and the beginner of the mafia world.
-
Borgia is the one who will change and improve Rome and the Vatican, rid it of corruption and death, and bring it back to its former glory.
-
Indignant at these acts of wickedness, Gennaro struck off the B from the escutcheon of the duke's palace at Ferrara, changing the name Borgia into Orgia.
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook Ebenezer Cobham Brewer 1853
-
Jeff Tobin is a tool, Jack Cafferty is a joke, Anderson Cooper (bless his soul) needs to come out for "gay men for Obama", and Gloria Borgia is a disgrace.
-
The utmost limits assigned to Papal depravity were realized in him, so that the very name Borgia has come to be used as a designation of any person unusually wicked.
-
Of Alfonso Borgia, who reigned for three years as Calixtus III., little need be said, except that his pontificate prepared for the greatness of his nephew, Roderigo Lenzuoli, known as Borgia in compliment to his uncle.
Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 (of 7) The Age of the Despots John Addington Symonds 1866
-
The Borgia was the richest, strongest, wisest, and most worldly of them all.
Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 (of 7) The Age of the Despots John Addington Symonds 1866
-
Spaniarde, and borne in Valencia, of the familie called Borgia, and therefore no marvell thoughe he were ledd by parcialitie to favour the
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation. Vol. XIII. America. Part II. Richard Hakluyt 1584
-
Borgia, which is here given as a paterne to new Princes, we shall find to have been nothing else but a cunning carriage of things so, that he might thereby first deceive and inveigle, and then suppresse all those that could oppose or hinder his ambition.
Machiavelli, Volume I Niccol�� Machiavelli 1498
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.