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Dictionary definition: Cyrano de Bergerac
- Article from:
- A New Dictionary of Eponyms
- Author:
Copyright© A New Dictionary of Eponyms 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information)
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Cyrano de Bergerac
Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac (1619–1655), a Gascon, is one of the few men in history who have become famous because of a prodigious nose. ( Jimmy Durante more recently parlayed his nose into a successful movie career and nightclub appearances.) Cyrano was constantly being insulted because of his proboscis and had to fight many duels to vindicate it. His duel single-handedly against a hundred enemies while serving as an officer in the Guards has been documented. It is said that Cyrano fought over a thousand duels.
Cyrano's name became a household word in 1897 when a play, Cyrano de Bergerac, written by Edmond Rostand, attained remarkable success. The ...