corte Italian · revision 38523

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1186, Fabriano document|origins=la cohors}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkor.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''corte''' ''f'' (plural corti)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian forms include [[m|roa-oit|chorte]], [[m|roa-oit|cort]] and [[m|roa-oit|curte]].^(TLIO) In the north the word is [[lmo|curt]] and [[pms|cort]].^(LEI|15, 565)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|cohors|t=enclosure, farmyard; troop]], in the contracted form [[m|la|cors]] that Latin already had.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) The Medieval Latin [[m|la-med|curtis]] is a false Latinisation of the Romance word.^(Nocentini 2010) Italian also has the learned doublet [[coorte]].^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The word is pan-Romance: [[fro|court]] (now [[fr|cour]]), [[oc|cort]], [[ca|cort]], [[es|corte]], [[pt|corte]], [[ro|curte]], [[fur|cort]] and [[sc|corte|alt=korte|t=sheepfold]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|15, 564)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The Latin word is formed with [[m|la|co-]] from the stem of [[la|hortus|t=enclosure, garden]], whence [[orto]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan reconstructs a Proto-Italic [[m|itc-pro|*kom]] + [[itc-pro|*χorti-]] and suggests a verbal derivative of [[ine-pro|*ǵher-|t=to take, grab]], with doubt.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The meaning moved from “enclosure” to “troop” and “bodyguard”, then to the retinue of a lord and his estate.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The LEI thinks the Latin sense “retinue of a nobleman” is the base of the feudal court.^(LEI|15, 564) DEI compares the same development in [[de|Hof]].^(DEI|1125)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is a Fabriano document of 1186.^(TLIO) In 1219 the ''Breve di Montieri'' uses ''corte'' for a feudal estate, the lord's buildings and lands, and early in the 13th century Uguccione da Lodi uses it for a royal court.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian ''corte'' named a courtyard or enclosure, a feudal estate, the residence of a king or lord and the people who lived there, the papal court, and also heaven as the ''corte celeste''.^(TLIO)^(LEI|15, 564) Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for a courtyard and Brunetto Latini for a body of judges (both before 1294); at the end of the 14th century Ser Giovanni uses it for the retinue of an important person.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The refined manners of court life gave [[cortese]] and [[cortesia]], both from Occitan, and ''corteggiare'' and ''fare la corte'' for paying court to a woman.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) ''Fare la corte'' is a loan translation of French ''faire la cour'' (1538).^(DELI 1999) ''Corte dei miracoli'' is from French ''cour des miracles'', and ''alta corte'' and ''bassa corte'' from French ''haute cour'' and ''basse-cour''.^(GDLI)^(DEI|1125) In the dialects of the north the word still names a farmyard, a dunghill, a cattle pen and the farmstead itself.^(LEI|15, 565)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1186 – ''Corte'' is recorded in a Fabriano document.^(TLIO)

+ * 1219 – The ''Breve di Montieri'' uses it for a feudal estate.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses it for a royal court.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1281–1288 – Salimbene writes Medieval Latin ''curtis'' for a courtyard.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone uses it for a courtyard, and Brunetto Latini for a court of judges.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Late 14th century – Ser Giovanni uses it for a retinue.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1538 – ''Fare la corte'' is borrowed from French.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[cortile|alt=courtyard]] inside a building or group of buildings; the yard beside a farmhouse: ''Le galline razzolavano nella corte.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(history)'' The [[m|en|manor]] of the early Middle Ages, the lord's estate with its dependent holdings; in Lombardy, a farmstead housing several families.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The residence of a [[sovrano|alt=sovereign]]; the sovereign's family and courtiers; the sovereign and his government: ''Fu invitato a corte per il ballo di carnevale.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A group of admirers or flatterers around an important person.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(law)'' A [[m|en|court]], a body of judges: ''Corte d'appello'', ''Corte costituzionale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # In Venice, a small square enclosed by houses.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cortile]]

+ * [[cortese]]

+ * [[cortesia]]

+ * [[corteggiare]]

+ * [[corteggiamento]]

+ * [[corteggiatore]]

+ * [[corteggio]]

+ * [[corteo]]

+ * [[cortigiano]]

+ * [[cortigiana]]

+ * [[curtense]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coorte]]

+ * [[orto]]

+ * [[la|cohors]]

+ * [[fr|cour]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Fare la corte a qualcuno'' means to court someone, or to flatter a powerful person for favours.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) ''Corte dei miracoli'' is a squalid haunt of beggars and petty criminals.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}