Adjacent Words

Courtesan definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COURTESAN, n. A prostitute; a woman who prostitutes herself for hire, especially to men of rank.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a woman who cohabits with an important man [syn: concubine, courtesan, doxy, paramour]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle French courtisane, from northern Italian dialect form of Italian cortigiana woman courtier, feminine of cortigiano courtier, from corte court, from Latin cohort-, cohors Date: 1533 a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. literary 1 a prostitute, esp. one with wealthy or upper-class clients. 2 the mistress of a wealthy man. Etymology: F courtisane f. It. cortigiana, fem. of cortigiano courtier f. corte COURT

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Courtesan Cour"te*san (k?r"t?-z?n; 277), n. [F. courtisane, fr. courtisan courtier, It. cortigiano; or directly fr. It. cortigiana, or Sp. cortesana. See Court.] A woman who prostitutes herself for hire; a prostitute; a harlot. Lasciviously decked like a courtesan. --Sir H. Wotton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(courtesans) In former times, a courtesan was a woman who had sexual relationships with rich and powerful men for money. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. [Written also Courtezan.] Prostitute, whore, harlot, strumpet, punk, wench, drab, trull, quean, rig, wanton, frail sister, Cyprian, night-walker, street-walker, lewd woman woman of the town, woman of ill-fame, public woman, demirep, fille de joie, Jezebel, Messalina, Delilah, Phryne, Lais, lorette, corotte, grisette, member of the demi-monde.

Moby Thesaurus

Aspasia, Delilah, Jezebel, Messalina, Phryne, Thais, adventuress, demimondaine, demimonde, demirep, fancy woman, femme fatale, harem girl, hetaera, houri, kept woman, odalisque, paphian, seductress, temptress, vamp, vampire, whore