bucentaur

/ bjuːˈsɛntɔː /

noun

1. the state barge of Venice from which the doge and other officials dropped a ring into the sea on Ascension Day to symbolize the ceremonial marriage of the state with the Adriatic

Word History and Origins

Origin of bucentaur¹

C17: from Italian bucentoro , of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

On Ascension Day, as the ceremony of the Bucentaur was celebrated near the fort, M. Rosa brought Madame Orio and her two nieces to witness it, and I had the pleasure of treating them all to a good dinner in my room.

From Project Gutenberg

After half-an-hour's sailing, the gondola stopped before the small entrance of the Fortress St. Andre, at the mouth of the Adriatic, on the very spot where the Bucentaur stands, when, on Ascension Day, the doge comes to espouse the sea.

From Project Gutenberg

Not expecting to see me, she asked me why I had not gone to the pageant of the Bucentaur, which, the weather being favourable, would set out on this day.

From Project Gutenberg

I saw at the arsenal to-day the model of the "Bucentaur," the state galley in which the Doge of Venice went out annually to marry him to the sea.

From Project Gutenberg

I would rather have seen the Bucentaur than all their 280 other plunder.

From Project Gutenberg