courtesan

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French courtisane, also courtisienne and courtisanne,^[2] probably from Italian cortigiana (“woman of the court, courtly woman, courtesan”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} the feminine of cortigiano (“courtier”),^[6][3][7][8] from corte (“court”),^[6][4][9] from Latin cohors, cōrtem,^[3][4][5][6] the source of court.^[9][6] Merriam-Webster analyses cortigiano as corte and the suffix -igiano;^[4] Skeat took it as an extension of cortese (“courteous”).^[10] The French forms are recorded earlier than the Italian one (late 15th century against before 1529), but the OED thinks that the French word is still a borrowing, which would mean that the Italian was already current in the 15th century, and not a formation on courtisan.^[2] Some forms, in 1565, seem to come directly from cortegiana.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A prostitute with wealthy or upper-class clients, or a mistress kept by a courtier: 1542, in Nicholas Udall's translation of Erasmus's Apophthegmes.^[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1533,^[4] and Barnhart gives 1549, treating courtisan, from 1426, as an earlier form.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The Italian word literally meant a woman of the court, and its use for a prostitute is explained by Etymonline as mockery or euphemism.^[6] In English the word had that meaning from the start.^[2] The masculine courtisan, a member of the papal court, is older, from 1426 to 1570,^[2][6] and Trench quotes a passage of Foxe's Book of Martyrs where courtesans stand beside prelates and priests, as courtiers;^[11] he adds that the word already often has its present use in Shakespeare.^[11] Collins describes the word as used especially of former times.^[12] A verb, to treat a woman as a courtesan or turn her into one, is recorded from 1654.^[2] Courtesanship dates from the mid-19th century.^[8]

Timeline

• 1542 – a prostitute with wealthy clients; a courtier's mistress.^[2] Etymonline has the 1540s, and Merriam-Webster 1533.^[6][4]
• 1654 – verb, to treat a woman as a courtesan.^[2]
• mid 19th century – courtesanship, the practice and position of a courtesan.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A prostitute or kept mistress, especially, in former times, one whose clients were courtiers or wealthy men.^{[12][4][2][8]}

Verb

1. To treat a woman as a courtesan; to make a courtesan of her.^[2]

Word family

• courtesanship

Related words

• court
• courtier
• courteous
• courtisan
• cohort

Usage notes

The word is also spelled courtezan, less commonly.^[4][12] The first edition of the OED (1893) noted that its first syllable, formerly always /kəː-/, was by then more and more often /kɔː-/.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b Trench, Richard Chenevix (1859), A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present, London: John W. Parker
12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins