courtois

Forms

courtois (feminine courtoise, masculine plural courtois, feminine plural courtoises)^[1] Old French curteis (about 1100) and corteis (about 1130), later cortois.^[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman also has curtois, courteys and cortés.^[5]

Etymology

It is formed from Old French cort (“residence of a ruler and his court”) + -eis,^[2][6][7] the Old French noun that is now cour; the modern spelling was remade after the older spelling court.^[3] The suffix goes back to Latin -ēnsis.^[4] The noun is curtis, attested in Medieval Latin, from classical Latin cohors (“farmyard, retinue”).^[8][4]

Cognate with Old Occitan cortes, Italian cortese and Portuguese cortês.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1100 in the Chanson de Roland, of a person: Et Oliviers li proz e li curteis “and Oliver the valiant and the courteous”.^[2][4] About 1130 the Couronnement de Louis uses it of a thing.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is the oldest of the French adjectives for politeness.^[3] The Middle Ages understood it in two ways: socially, of what belongs to the court and its customs, and morally, of the refinement worthy of a court.^[3] Both arose with a 12th-century way of life opposed to the feudal warrior ideal, which found its expression in the poetry of the troubadours and in narrative poems; the phrase amour courtois was coined much later, by G. Paris in 1880.^[3] Courtly society faded towards the end of the 13th century, but its imagery and language marked literature until the 15th century.^[3]

The Anglo-Norman Dictionary records it from about 1136 for “courteous, courtly”, but also of an animal, “tractable”, and for “handsome, pleasant”.^[5] After falling out of favour at the end of the 17th century, it regained vitality in refined usage as a word of politeness.^[3] The noun courtoisie (1155, curteisie) followed the same course.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Curteis in the Chanson de Roland.^[2][4]
• c. 1130 – Corteis is used of a thing in the Couronnement de Louis.^[2]
• c. 1136 – First Anglo-Norman record.^[5]
• 1155 – The noun curteisie appears.^[3]
• 1410 – Descourtois appears, refashioned in 1555 as discourtois after Italian discortese.^[3]
• Late 17th century – The word falls out of favour for a time.^[3]
• 1880 – G. Paris coins amour courtois.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Courteous, speaking and acting with refined civility: un voisin courtois.^[9][10]
2. Showing courtesy: une lettre courtoise.^[10][9]
3. (literature) Courtly, of the poetry of the medieval courts that exalted love in a refined way: poésie courtoise, amour courtois.^[9][10][11]
4. (history) Armes courtoises: blunted weapons used in tournaments, made so as not to wound.^[11][4]

Word family

• courtoisement
• courtoisie
• discourtois

Related words

• cour
• Latin cohors

Usage notes

In the old language chambre courtoise meant a privy.^[4] Littré notes that in the 17th century Chifflet tolerated the pronunciation courtais.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 850b
8. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse