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Glite Dictionary
dottore

dottore

1 9.9
A proud, foolish doctor who appears in old Italian comedy plays
  • noun
  • /dɔˈtɔːreɪ/
  • Literature
: dottore
  • My name is Dottore Frederico Carlucci.
  • Dottore Fanelli

Examples

  • The Dottore, Pulcinella, Pantalone, Scapin.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Then by default, the title must go to Dottore Turati.

    The Luzhin Defence (2000)

  • Could you tell me: did you ever meet your predecessor, Dottore Fanelli...?

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Pazzi, I'm not a scholar, Dottore.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Buongiorno, Dottore!

    Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

  • "The Dottore has commissioned me to find a doctor," Ligurio tells Callimaco (1.3).

    Academic text (1996)

  • The audience burst into laughter whenever the dottore took the stage with his absurd claims.

  • In the play, the dottore always assumed he knew the answers, but his advice was often misguided.

  • Every character in the commedia dell'arte mocked the dottore for his pretentious behavior and silly antics.

Surface Forms

dottore singular
dottori plural

Etymology

Dottore comes from the Latin doctor 'teacher' and from docere 'to teach', and it is the same root as English doctor. In Italian stage comedy the dottore is a proud man who thinks he knows a lot but often acts foolish, so the name fits a 'teacher' figure who is more silly than wise.