cortege
Americannoun
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a procession, especially a ceremonial one.
a funeral cortege.
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a line or train of attendants; retinue.
noun
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a formal procession, esp a funeral procession
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a train of attendants; retinue
Etymology
Origin of cortege
1670–80; < French < Italian corteggio courtly retinue, derivative of corteggiare to court, itself derivative of corte court
Explanation
A group of people following solemnly behind, whether they're a celebrity's handlers or a funeral procession, is a cortege. A movie star may have a cortege of hair stylists, assistants, and agents—you can also call this an entourage or a retinue. A funeral procession, the group of mourners that walks or rides in cars to a cemetery, is another kind of cortege. The French source, cortège, means "train of attendants," from the Italian corte, "court," and the Latin root cohors, "retinue."
Vocabulary lists containing cortege
"The Iliad" by Homer, Book 1
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The Odyssey
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The Stranger
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The cortege will then travel to her hometown of Skewen, Neath Port Talbot, travelling through the village at about 13:20 BST, an update on the website, external said.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Hundreds of fans gathered outside the cathedral and applauded as the cortege arrived, preceded by a guard of scooter riders as The Stone Roses track I Wanna Be Adored played on speakers.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025
It led a cortege of numerous other lorries, as people lined the streets to pay their respects.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2025
Stopping for a cortege is a "tradition" amongst road users, it said, a "moment of dignity and respect for the deceased and their family".
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025
The small cortege walked on foot, slowly, all the way to the cemetery, between two rows of soldiers who had cordoned off the streets.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
