Machiavelli

See also: machiavelli

English

Etymology

Probably from Italian mal- +‎ chiavello, in which the second component is a diminutive of chiavo (“nail”). The name is attested in a Late Latin document in the form Malclavelli.[1]

Proper noun

Machiavelli

  1. Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), Italian statesman and writer, whose work The Prince (1532) advises that acquiring and exercising power may require unethical methods.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

Machiavelli (plural Machiavellis)

  1. Someone like Niccolò Machiavelli: a Machiavellian person

References
  1. “Macchiavelli – Origine del Cognome”, in Cognomix‎ (in Italian), 2019 January 9 (last accessed)
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.