courtship
Meanings
noun
- The act of paying court, that is, demonstrating such politeness and respect as is traditionally given at a court (“a formal assembly of a sovereign's retinue”).
- The ceremonial performance of acts of courtesy to a dignitary, etc.
- The act of wooing a person to enter into a romantic relationship or marriage; hence, the period during which a couple fall in love before their marriage.
- The behaviour exhibited by an animal to attract a mate.
- The act of trying to solicit a favour or support from someone.
- Elegance or propriety of manners fitting for a court; courtliness; (by extension) courteous or polite behaviour; courtesy.
- The pursuit of being a courtier, such as exercising diplomacy, finesse, etc.; also, the artifices and intrigues of a court; courtcraft.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From court (“demonstration of such respect as is traditionally given at court; attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favour; politeness of manner; civility towards someone”) + -ship (suffix forming nouns indicating a property or state of being).
Synonyms
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Translations
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.