courtesan

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courtesan

/kɔːtɪˈzæn/
/ˈkɔːtɪzæn/
/ˈkɔːtɪzən/
/kɔɹtɪˈzæn/
/ˈkɔɹtɪzæn/
/ˈkɔɹtɪzən/
/ˈkɔɹtɪzən/ US
/ˈkɔɹtɪzæn/ US
/ˈkoɹtɪzən/ US
/ˈkoɹtɪzæn/ US

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Middle French courtisane, from Italian cortigiana, feminine of cortigiano (“courtier”), from corte (“court”), itself from Latin cohors.

noun courtesans · courtezan

A female prostitute, especially one with high-status or wealthy clients. What wine, what drug, what philtre known of man / Will drown this ancient foe, / Ruthless and ravenous as a courtesan, / Sure as an ant, and slow?
Similar: abandons, alley cat, almah, bangtail, Bankside lady, bargirl, bat, beotch, blouze, blowen, blowsabella, brass nail
dated The mistress of a royal or noble.
archaic A woman of a royal or noble court.
A fairy chess piece that can move to any adjacent square, that, when captured, the capturing piece is also eliminated. The courtesan moves like a mann, but whatever piece captures her is also removed from the board (unless it’s a king).

Translations

Every language

noun mistress

Русский	куртиза́нка kurtizánka

noun high-status prostitute

Español	cortesana
한국어	창녀 changnyeo, 고급 창녀 gogeup changnyeo
日本語	娼婦 shōfu, 高級娼婦 kōkyū shōfu
中文	妓女 jìnǚ, 高級妓女 /高级妓女 gāojí jìnǚ
Português	cortesã
Français	courtisane
Deutsch	Kurtisane
Italiano	prostituta, cortigiana
Ελληνικά	κοκότα kokóta
Română	curtezană
Русский	куртиза́нка kurtizánka
Tiếng Việt	đĩ quý phái, đĩ hạng sang
العربية	مَحْظِيّة maḥẓiyya

noun woman of court

日本語	宮廷の女 kyūtei no onna
हिन्दी	कंचनी kañcnī
Português	cortesã
Deutsch	Hofdame
Italiano	cortigiana
Русский	куртиза́нка kurtizánka, придво́рная pridvórnaja

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Cite this

MLA

"courtesan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/courtesan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

courtesan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/courtesan

Chicago

"courtesan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/courtesan.

BibTeX

@misc{courtesan_2026,
  title = {courtesan},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/courtesan},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}