courtly
Americanadjective
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polite, refined, or elegant.
courtly manners.
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flattering; obsequious.
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noting, pertaining to, or suitable for the court of a sovereign.
adverb
adjective
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of or suitable for a royal court
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refined in manner
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ingratiating
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of courtly
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at court, -ly
Explanation
The word courtly has nothing to do with a basketball court or court of law. Rather, courtly things relate to royal courts: they're sophisticated and grand. Think about the pomp that surrounds a royal wedding in England, and you'll get a sense of the lavish, expensive, regal nature of courtly things. Nothing courtly is common, cheap, or average. Since kings like the finer things in life, courtly things are similarly extravagant and impressive.
Vocabulary lists containing courtly
Tolkien Reading Day, List 11
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Red, White, and Whole
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Howl's Moving Castle
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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.
That Rococo quartet, completed in 1755, is a survey in the soft opulence of the style, filled with idealized nature, rich fabrics and scenes of courtly romance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
The life-size portrait he produced is a whiz-bang spectacle of courtly pomp and dynastic circumstance.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2024
And he is seen as "the courtly gentleman of the Marble Palace," as Time Magazine described him.
From Salon • Aug. 16, 2024
They played important roles in courtly affairs, acting as confidantes and advisers to kings and princes.
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2024
It coquettishly combines 1920s chutzpah and eighteenth-century courtly dance, quoting along the way actual music by eighteenth-century Italian composers.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
