Courtesan

/kɔːtɪˈzæn/ · noun

Meaning

A female prostitute, especially one with high-status or wealthy clients..

Definitions by Sense

1. A female prostitute, especially one with high-status or wealthy clients.
2. (dated) The mistress of a royal or noble.
3. (archaic) A woman of a royal or noble court.
4. (chess) A fairy chess piece that can move to any adjacent square, that, when captured, the capturing piece is also eliminated.

Example Sentences

What wine, what drug, what philtre known of man / Will drown this ancient foe, / Ruthless and ravenous as a courtesan, / Sure as an ant, and slow?

In the notes he wrote for Nana, his novel about a courtesan in Second Empire Paris, Zola imagined ‘a whole society hurling itself’ at her body, ‘a pack of hounds after a bitch, who is not even on heat and makes fun of the hounds following her’. This might also describe the life of Harriette Wilson, whose unguarded pursuit by the leaders of the British aristocracy, the army, the government and opposition made her the most desired, and then the most dangerous, woman in Regency London.

The courtesan moves like a mann, but whatever piece captures her is also removed from the board (unless it’s a king).

Synonyms for courtesan

Antonyms for courtesan

Related Words

Word Forms

• courtesans
• courtezan

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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