court

See also: Court

English

Etymology

From Middle English court, from Old French cort, curt, from Latin cōrtem (accusative of cōrs), ultimately from cohors. Doublet of cohort.

A court (def. 4.2) assembled to hear the testimony of Charles Lindbergh. The room is also a court (def. 4.1).
Professional tennis players playing on a tennis court (def. 5) in New Delhi, India

Pronunciation

Noun

court (plural courts)

  1. An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.
    The girls were playing in the court.
    1. (Australia, US) A street with no outlet, a cul-de-sac.
    2. (Hong Kong, only used in names) A housing estate under the House Ownership Scheme.
    3. (Hong Kong, only used in names) An apartment building, or a small development of several apartment buildings.
  2. (social) Royal society.
    1. The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or other dignitary; a palace.
      The noblemen visited the queen in her court.
    2. The collective body of persons composing the retinue of a sovereign or person high in authority; all the surroundings of a sovereign in his regal state.
      The queen and her court traveled to the city to welcome back the soldiers.
    3. Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign.
  3. Attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favor; politeness of manner; civility towards someone
  4. (law) The administration of law.
    1. The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered.
      Many famous criminals have been put on trial in this court.
    2. The persons officially assembled under authority of law, at the appropriate time and place, for the administration of justice; an official assembly, legally met together for the transaction of judicial business; a judge or judges sitting for the hearing or trial of cases.
      The court started proceedings at 11 o'clock.
      • 2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian:
        Next month, Clemons will be brought before a court presided over by a "special master", who will review the case one last time. The hearing will be unprecedented in its remit, but at its core will be a simple issue: should Reggie Clemons live or die?
      • 1985, “Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)”, in Justice Canada‎, retrieved 1 March 2020:
        536(2.1). ... You have the option to elect to be tried by a provincial court judge without a jury; or you may elect to be tried by a judge without a jury; or you may elect to be tried by a court composed of a judge and jury.
    3. An organization for the administration of law, consisting of a body of judges with a certain jurisdiction along with its administrative apparatus.
      Each province in Canada has three courts: a provincial court, a superior court, and a court of appeals.
    4. (often capitalized) The judge or judges or other judicial officer presiding in a particular matter, particularly as distinguished from the counsel or jury, or both.
      • 2017 May 5, Kevin R. Aalto, “Gordon v. Canada, 2017 FC 454”, in CanLII‎, retrieved 23 February 2020:
        A case conference in person was convened.... To emphasize that it was a Court proceeding the Court was gowned.
      • 2018 August 17, M.F. McParland, “R. v. Carlson, 2018 BCPC 209”, in CanLII‎, retrieved 1 March 2020:
        [5]... defence alleges there is a reasonable apprehension of bias based on the cumulative effect of several issues including the following: (1) The Court was “crying” during the victim impact statement; (2) The Court laughed or “scoffed” when defence stated its sentencing position; ...(6) The Court’s tone, facial expression and demeanor throughout the proceedings...
    5. The session of a judicial assembly.
      The court is now in session.
      • 2023 February 16, WCCO Staff, “Julissa Thaler sentenced to life in prison for murdering 6-year-old son, Eli Hart”, in cbsnews.com‎:
        On Thursday morning, a Hennepin County judge formally sentenced Julissa Thaler to the life sentence for Eli Hart's murder. […] After court, family said their focus now turns to fundraising a playground in Mound in Eli Hart's honor […]
    6. Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.
  5. (sports) A place arranged for playing the games of tennis, basketball, handball, badminton, volleyball, squash and some other games
    The local sports club has six tennis courts and two squash courts.
    The shuttlecock landed outside the court.
    • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:
      By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.
    1. one of the two divisions of a tennis, badminton or volleyball court, in which the player or players of each team play
      • 2010, Cara Marcus, Faulkner Hospital:
        The photograph at left captures a great serve by Dr. Sadowsky, who will never forget one of Bobby Riggs's serves, which had such a great spin that it landed in his court and bounced back to the other side of the net before he had a chance to return it.
  6. (ornithology) A space prepared and decorated by certain bird species in which to advertise themselves for a mate.
    The male Wilson's bird of paradise clears an area of rainforest to create a court in which to perform an elaborate mating dance.

Derived terms

Descendants
  • → Bulgarian: корт (kort)
  • → French: court
  • → Russian: корт (kort)

Translations
collective body of persons composing the retinue of a sovereign or person high in authority
A man courting a woman by giving her flowers, in a 14th century work

Verb

court (third-person singular simple present courts, present participle courting, simple past and past participle courted)

  1. (transitive) To seek to achieve or win.
    He was courting big new accounts that previous salesman had not attempted.
  2. (transitive) To risk (a consequence, usually negative).
    He courted controversy with his frank speeches.
    • 1964 April, “Automatic Signalling Problems in an Emergency”, in Modern Railways, page 273:
      It is not unknown for hot axleboxes to fail completely and for wagons to become derailed as a result. Surely it is courting disaster to allow a train to proceed for up to seven miles with a defective vehicle before it can be brought to a halt?
  3. (transitive) To try to win a commitment to marry from.
  4. (transitive) To engage in behavior leading to mating.
    The bird was courting by making an elaborate dance.
  5. (transitive) To attempt to attract.
    • 1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 24, in The History of England: From the Accession of James II, volume 5:
      By one person, however, Portland was still assiduously courted, and that person was the king.
  6. (transitive) To invite by attractions; to allure; to attract.
    Synonyms: charm, entrance; see also Thesaurus:allure
    • a. 1835, Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Gardener's Daughter:
      […] a well-worn pathway courted us / To one green wicket in a privet hedge […]
    • 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:
      It is a grim, grey old town, standing on bleak, precipitous cliffs that court every passing hurricane, […]
  7. (transitive) To attempt to gain alliance with.
  8. (intransitive) To engage in activities intended to win someone's affections.
    Synonyms: romance, solicit; see also Thesaurus:woo
    She's had a few beaus come courting.
  9. (intransitive) To engage in courtship behavior.
    In this season, you can see many animals courting.

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old French curt, from Latin curtus.

Adjective

court (feminine courte, masculine plural courts, feminine plural courtes)

  1. short
Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

court

  1. third-person singular present indicative of courir

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English court.

Noun

court m (plural courts)

  1. (tennis) court
Derived terms

Further reading

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French cort, curt, from Latin cōrs, contraction of cohors, cohortem.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /kuːrt/

Noun

court (plural courtes)

  1. A courtyard; an enclosed space.
  2. A grand residence, especially that of a ruler or noble.
  3. The household or retinue of a ruler; a ruler's court.
  4. A (royal) assembly; a deliberative body.
  5. A court of law; the body which administers justice:
    1. A court building; the place where justice is administered.
    2. A session of a judicial assembly.
    3. (rare) A legal action.

Descendants

References

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French cort, curt, etc.

Noun

court f (plural cours)

  1. court (of law)
  2. court (of a palace, etc.)
    • 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac:
      quant il les eut faictes si les scella & les bailla a la damoiselle pour porter l'andemain a court
      when he had written them [the letters] he then sealed them and entrusted them to the lady to take them tomorrow to the court

Descendants

References
  • Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (court, supplement)

Norman

Etymology

From Old French curt, from Latin curtus (“shortened, short”).

Adjective

court m

  1. (Jersey) short

Derived terms

Walloon

Etymology

From Old French curt, from Latin curtus.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /kuːʀ/

Adjective

court m (feminine singular courte, masculine plural courts, feminine plural courtes, feminine plural (before noun) courtès)

  1. short
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