court
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Court
Etymology
From Middle English court, from Old French cort, curt, from Latin cōrtem (accusative of cōrs), ultimately from cohors. Doublet of cohort.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kɔːt/
- (General American) IPA(key): /kɔɹt/
- (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /ko(ː)ɹt/
- (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /koət/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /koːt/
Audio (General Australian, male voice): (file)
- Homophone: caught (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger)
- Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t
Noun
court (plural courts)
- An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.
- The girls were playing in the court.
- 1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “The Palace of Art”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza XXX, page 77:
- All round the cool green courts there ran a row / Of cloisters, branched like mighty woods, / Echoing all night to that sonorous flow / Of spouted fountain floods.
- 1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Oliver Goldsmith”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC:
- Goldsmith took a garret in a miserable court.
- (Australia, US) A street with no outlet, a cul-de-sac.
- (Hong Kong, only used in names) A housing estate under the Home Ownership Scheme.
- (Hong Kong, only used in names) An apartment building, or a small development of several apartment buildings.
- (social) Royal society.
- The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or other dignitary; a palace.
- The noblemen visited the queen in her court.
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
- This our court, infected with their manners, / Shows like a riotous inn.
- The collective body of persons composing the retinue of a sovereign or person high in authority; all the surroundings of a sovereign in his regal state.
- The queen and her court traveled to the city to welcome back the soldiers.
- c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:
- My lord, there is a nobleman of the court at door would speak with you.
- 1819–1824, [Lord Byron], Don Juan, London, (please specify |canto=I to XVII):
- Love rules the court, the camp, the grove.
- Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign.
- 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XX, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
- The princesses […] held their court within the fortress.
- The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or other dignitary; a palace.
- Attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favor; politeness of manner; civility towards someone
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- No solace could her paramour entreat / Her once to show, ne court, nor dalliance.
- 1667 April 28 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 18 April 1667]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:
- I went to make court to the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle at their house in Clerkenwell.
- (law) The administration of law.
- The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered.
- Many famous criminals have been put on trial in this court.
- The persons officially assembled under authority of law, at the appropriate time and place, for the administration of justice; an official assembly, legally met together for the transaction of judicial business; a judge or judges sitting for the hearing or trial of cases.
- The court started proceedings at 11 o'clock.
- 2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian:
- Next month, Clemons will be brought before a court presided over by a "special master", who will review the case one last time. The hearing will be unprecedented in its remit, but at its core will be a simple issue: should Reggie Clemons live or die?
- 1985, “Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)”, in Justice Canada, retrieved 1 March 2020:
- 536(2.1). ... You have the option to elect to be tried by a provincial court judge without a jury; or you may elect to be tried by a judge without a jury; or you may elect to be tried by a court composed of a judge and jury.
- An organization for the administration of law, consisting of a body of judges with a certain jurisdiction along with its administrative apparatus.
- Each province in Canada has three courts: a provincial court, a superior court, and a court of appeals.
- (often capitalized) The judge or judges or other judicial officer presiding in a particular matter, particularly as distinguished from the counsel or jury, or both.
- 2018 August 17, M.F. McParland, “R. v. Carlson, 2018 BCPC 209”, in CanLII, retrieved 1 March 2020:
- [5]... defence alleges there is a reasonable apprehension of bias based on the cumulative effect of several issues including the following: (1) The Court was “crying” during the victim impact statement; (2) The Court laughed or “scoffed” when defence stated its sentencing position; ...(6) The Court’s tone, facial expression and demeanor throughout the proceedings...
- The session of a judicial assembly.
- The court is now in session.
- 2023 February 16, WCCO Staff, “Julissa Thaler sentenced to life in prison for murdering 6-year-old son, Eli Hart”, in cbsnews.com:
- On Thursday morning, a Hennepin County judge formally sentenced Julissa Thaler to the life sentence for Eli Hart's murder. […] After court, family said their focus now turns to fundraising a playground in Mound in Eli Hart's honor […]
- Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.
- The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered.
- (sports) A place arranged for playing the games of tennis, basketball, handball, badminton, volleyball, squash and some other games
- The local sports club has six tennis courts and two squash courts.
- The shuttlecock landed outside the court.
- 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:
- By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.
- one of the two divisions of a tennis, badminton or volleyball court, in which the player or players of each team play
- 2010, Cara Marcus, Faulkner Hospital:
- The photograph at left captures a great serve by Dr. Sadowsky, who will never forget one of Bobby Riggs's serves, which had such a great spin that it landed in his court and bounced back to the other side of the net before he had a chance to return it.
- (ornithology) A space prepared and decorated by certain bird species in which to advertise themselves for a mate.
- The male Wilson's bird of paradise clears an area of rainforest to create a court in which to perform an elaborate mating dance.
Derived terms
- accourt
- administrative court
- agreement on the choice of court
- all-court
- all-court press
- anticourt
- apex court
- appeals court
- appellate court
- auto court
- backcourt
- badminton court
- ballcourt
- baron court
- base court
- basketball court
- basse court
- cabin court
- charter court
- choice of court agreement
- civil court
- clay court
- claycourt
- constitutional court
- contempt of court
- cottage court
- county court
- courtable
- court appearance
- court-baron
- court baron
- court bouillon
- courtbred
- court card
- court case
- court circular
- court costs
- courtcraft
- court-cupboard
- court customary
- courter
- court fee
- court fight
- courtful
- court guide
- court hand
- court holy bread
- court holy water
- courthouse
- court-house
- court in banc
- court in bank
- court jester
- court-leet
- courtless
- courtlet
- courtlike
- courtling
- courtly
- court-marshal
- court-martial
- court martial
- court-martialed
- court of appeal
- court of appeals
- court of cassation
- court of equity
- court of first instance
- court of honor
- court of honour
- court of inquiry
- court of justice
- court of last resort
- court of law
- court of public opinion
- court of record
- court of regard
- court of second instance
- court of world opinion
- court order
- court-packing
- court piece
- court plaster
- court poor box
- court reporter
- court-ridden
- court roll
- courtroom
- court sense
- court shoe
- courtside
- court sword
- court tennis
- courtward
- courtwards
- courtwear
- courtyard
- crosscourt
- cross-court
- day in court
- deuce court
- Diplock court
- downcourt
- drum-head court
- drumhead court-martial
- Earl's Court
- e-court
- endcourt
- family court
- food court
- forecourt
- forest court
- friend at court
- friend of court
- friend of the court
- frontcourt
- fullcourt
- full-court press
- full court press
- Grange Court
- grass court
- half-court
- half court
- halfcourt
- half-court line
- half-court violation
- Hampton Court
- hard court
- hardcourt
- high court
- hold court
- homecourt
- in court
- inferior court
- in open court
- International Criminal Court
- juvenile court
- kangaroo court
- labour court
- laugh out of court
- law court
- leave the ball in someone's court
- lower court
- magistrates' court
- mags court
- manorial court
- midcourt
- moot court
- motor court
- multicourt
- mustang court
- national court
- night court
- Nightingale court
- noncourt
- officer of the court
- outcourt
- out-of-court
- palm court
- palm court orchestra
- plenary court
- police court
- prerogative court
- probate court
- quarterly court
- service court
- show court
- small claims court
- squash court
- stannary court
- subordinate court
- suit court
- superior court
- supreme court
- take to court
- tennis court
- the ball is in someone's court
- tourist court
- trial court
- upcourt
- youth court
Descendants
Translations
enclosed space; a courtyard
|
residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or ether dignitary
|
collective body of persons composing the retinue of a sovereign or person high in authority
| |||||||
formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign
|
attention directed to a person in power
hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered
|
persons officially assembled under authority of law
|
tribunal established for the administration of justice
|
judge or judges
|
session of a judicial assembly
|
jurisdiction
|
place for playing the game of tennis and some other ball games
|
Verb
court (third-person singular simple present courts, present participle courting, simple past and past participle courted)
- (transitive) To seek to achieve or win (a prize).
- He was courting big new accounts that previous salesmen had not attempted.
- 1800, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of The Reign of Philip The Second, King of Spain, volume 3:
- On the contrary, they employed the brief respite that was left them in fortifying one another's courage, and in bearing testimony to the truth in so earnest a manner that they might almost seem to have courted the crown of martyrdom.
- 1821, Thomas De Quincey, “To the Reader”, in Confessions of an English Opium-Eater:
- Guilt and misery shrink, by a natural instinct, from public notice: they court privacy and solitude: and even in their choice of a grave will sometimes sequester themselves from the general population of the churchyard […]
- (transitive) To risk (a consequence, usually negative).
- She courted controversy with her frank speeches.
- 1964 April, “Automatic Signalling Problems in an Emergency”, in Modern Railways, page 273:
- It is not unknown for hot axleboxes to fail completely and for wagons to become derailed as a result. Surely it is courting disaster to allow a train to proceed for up to seven miles with a defective vehicle before it can be brought to a halt?
- (transitive) To try to win a commitment to marry from.
- c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, act 1, scene 1:
- If either of you both love Katharina […] / Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure.
- (transitive) To engage in behavior conducive to mating with.
- The bird was courting a potential mate by performing an elaborate dance.
- 1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 24, in The History of England: From the Accession of James II, volume 5:
- By one person, however, Portland was still assiduously courted, and that person was the king.
- (transitive) To attempt to attract; to invite by attractions; to allure.
- Synonyms: charm, entrance; see also Thesaurus:allure
- a. 1835, Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Gardener's Daughter:
- […] a well-worn pathway courted us / To one green wicket in a privet hedge […]
- 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:
- It is a grim, grey old town, standing on bleak, precipitous cliffs that court every passing hurricane, […]
- (transitive) To attempt to gain alliance with.
- (intransitive) To engage in activities intended to win affections.
- Synonyms: romance, solicit; see also Thesaurus:woo
- She's had a few beaus come courting.
- (intransitive) To engage in courtship behavior.
- At this time of year, you can see many animals courting.
Derived terms
Translations
to attempt to win over
|
Further reading
Anagrams
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old French curt, from Latin curtus.
Adjective
court (feminine courte, masculine plural courts, feminine plural courtes)
Derived terms
- à court
- à court terme
- avoir la mémoire courte
- avoir le respire court et le discours égaré
- circuit court
- couper court
- court sur pattes
- court-circuit
- courte échelle
- les plaisanteries les plus courtes sont les meilleures
- mémoire à court terme
- pendre haut et court
- piste courte
- pour faire court
- prendre de court
- tirer à la courte paille
- tourner court
- tout court
Related terms
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
court
Etymology 3
Noun
court m (plural courts)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “court”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French cort, curt, from Latin cōrs, contraction of cohors, cohortem.
Pronunciation
Noun
court (plural courtes)
- A courtyard; an enclosed space.
- A grand residence, especially that of a ruler or noble.
- The household or retinue of a ruler; a ruler's court.
- A (royal) assembly; a deliberative body.
- A court of law; the body which administers justice:
Related terms
Descendants
References
- “cǒurt, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology
From Old French cort, curt, etc.
Noun
court f (plural cours)
- court (of law)
- court (of a palace, etc.)
- 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac:
- quant il les eut faictes si les scella & les bailla a la damoiselle pour porter l'andemain a court
- when he had written them [the letters] he then sealed them and entrusted them to the lady to take them tomorrow to the court
Descendants
- French: cour
References
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (court, supplement)
Etymology
From Old French curt, from Latin curtus (“shortened, short”).
Adjective
court m
Derived terms
- courtément (adverb)
Etymology
From Old French curt, from Latin curtus.
Pronunciation
Adjective
court m (feminine singular courte, masculine plural courts, feminine plural courtes, feminine plural (before noun) courtès)
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