α. 1800s serventismo.
β. 1800s serventeism, 1800s– serventism.
serventismn.
/səːˈvɛntɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /sərˈvɛnˌtɪzəm/ Now historical and rare.
The practice of attending upon a woman (usually a married woman) with exceptional devotion, as her male companion or lover. Cf. cicisbeism n.Mainly used with reference to Italy in the 18th and 19th centuries.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > courtship or wooing > [noun] > practice of attending married woman
cicisbeism1743
serventism1820
1820 Ld. Byron Let. 22 July (1977) VII. 138 Anastasius [i.e. the book Anastasius, or Memoirs of a Greek] [is] good and true bating a few mistakes about ‘Serventismo’ which no foreigner can understand or really know—without residing years in the country.
1827 Monthly Rev. June 266 The frequent recurrence to the old tale of cicisbeism and serventism, afford by no means a fair criterion for judging of Italian females.
1920 J. S. Kennard Goldoni & Venice of his Time vii 273 Like many other customs, serventism was at first a privilege of the highest caste.
1987 ELH 54 604 Byron could sometimes comment on the system in quasi-feminist terms, deeming Serventism a byproduct of the way Italian fathers treat their daughters as commodities.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1820