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.
See Examples For:
The limpid four-movement ballet is both courtly and casual, with its intricately evolving choreographic patterns gently beguiling, as if seen in a crystalline hall of mirrors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
Amir Khusrau, an Indo-Persian poet who documented courtly life during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, mentioned two types of naans in his writings - naan-e-tanuk and naan-i-tanuri.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 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
I write in the tradition of that high, courtly genre.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
In some ways, Gucci Mane is a holdover from this older, meaner era, which is one reason that a younger, courtlier peer like Drake is so eager to get his blessing.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 1, 2016
Mr. Kuhn favors a courtlier style, crisp and precise.
From New York Times ● May 15, 2016
His competitive instincts could overwhelm his gentler, courtlier ones.
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2016
In comportment and style, Byrd often seemed a Senate throwback to a courtlier 19th century.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2010
So here, then, was a knave who held, somehow, the keys to a courtlier and nobler world.
From The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck A Comedy of Limitations by James Branch Cabell
But Mr. Lovano gave it his courtliest treatment, caressing the wistful melody with a whispery, feathery grace.
From New York Times ● Jul. 26, 2013
Gottfried von Cramm, who put Budge out in the semi-finals that year, greeted the Queen with the courtliest bow of the dav.
From Time Magazine Archive
He is the most reticent of directors -- where the book ogles, the film discreetly observes -- and, here, the courtliest of stars.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Well, we are, Polly, my child,” said old Mr.134 King, getting out to help her with his courtliest air.
From Five Little Peppers at School by Hermann Heyer
He turned to me, and bowed low--his courtliest bow.
From The Red Cockade by Stanley John Weyman
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.
