courtesan Hear it!

courtesan definition

cour·te·san (kôrt′ə zən, kôrt′ə zan′; also, esp.formerly, kʉrt′-)

noun

a prostitute; esp., a mistress of a king, or a man of wealth or nobility
also courtezan cour′·te·zan

Etymology: Fr courtisane < It cortigiana, a prostitute, orig., court lady < corte, court < VL curtis: see court

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.