courtship

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court·ship

(kôrt′shĭp′)

1. The act, process, or period of courting.

2. Zoology Specialized behavior in animals that leads to or initiates mating.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

courtship

(ˈkɔːtʃɪp)

1. the act, period, or art of seeking the love of someone with intent to marry

2. the seeking or soliciting of favours

3. obsolete courtly behaviour

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

court•ship

(ˈkɔrt ʃɪp, ˈkoʊrt-)

n.

the act, process, or period of courting.

[1580–90]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

courtship - a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage); "its was a brief and intense courtship"

courting, wooing, suit

appeal, entreaty, prayer - earnest or urgent request; "an entreaty to stop the fighting"; "an appeal for help"; "an appeal to the public to keep calm"

bundling - a onetime custom during courtship of unmarried couples occupying the same bed without undressing

courtship

noun wooing, courting, suit, romance, pursuit, engagement, keeping company After a short courtship, she accepted his marriage proposal.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

courtship

noun

Romantic attentions:

address (often used in plural), suit.

Translations

تودُّد، مُغازلّـه

dvořenínámluvy

bejlen

Balz Hofmachen

cour

udvarlás

biîlun

corteggiamento

beiling frieri

galanteio

dvorenie

kur yapma

求爱

courtship

[ˈkɔːtʃɪp] N (= act) → cortejo m; (= period) → noviazgo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

courtship

n (dated) → (Braut)werbung f (dated) → (of um); during their courtship → während er um sie warb or freite (dated)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

courtship

[ˈkɔːtʃɪp] n → corteggiamento

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

court

(koːt) noun

1. a place where legal cases are heard. a magistrates' court; the High Court.

2. the judges and officials of a legal court. The accused is to appear before the court on Friday.

3. a marked-out space for certain games. a tennis-court; a squash court.

4. the officials, councillors etc of a king or queen. the court of King James.

5. the palace of a king or queen. Hampton Court.

6. an open space surrounded by houses or by the parts of one house.

verb

1. to try to win the love of; to woo.

2. to try to gain (admiration etc).

3. to seem to be deliberately risking (disaster etc).

ˈcourtier (-tiə) noun

a member of the court of a king or queen. He was one of King James' courtiers.

ˈcourtly adjective

having fine manners.

ˈcourtliness noun

ˈcourtship noun

courting or wooing.

ˈcourthouse noun

a building where legal cases are held.

ˌcourt-ˈmartial – plural ˌcourts-ˈmartial – noun

a court held by officers of the armed forces to try offences against discipline.

ˈcourtyard noun

a court or enclosed ground beside, or surrounded by, a building. the courtyard of the castle.

References in classic literature ?

Casaubon, as might be expected, spent a great deal of his time at the Grange in these weeks, and the hindrance which courtship occasioned to the progress of his great work--the Key to all Mythologies--naturally made him look forward the more eagerly to the happy termination of courtship.

"Could I not be preparing myself now to be more useful?" said Dorothea to him, one morning, early in the time of courtship; "could I not learn to read Latin and Greek aloud to you, as Milton's daughters did to their father, without understanding what they read?"

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The story of Doctor Reefy and his courtship of the tall dark girl who became his wife and left her money to him is a very curious story.

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At moments, in spite of thought, she would reply to their inquiries with a manner of superiority, as if recognizing that her experiences in the field of courtship had, indeed, been slightly enviable.

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There were not many -- only a dozen in all -- for Walter and Bertha Shirley had not been often separated during their courtship. The letters were yellow and faded and dim, blurred with the touch of passing years.

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The continuous moral irritation of his unhappy courtship--a courtship which had never advanced beyond the frigid familiarity of kissing Natalie's hand in the presence of others-- had physically deteriorated him.

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She and Stephen were in that stage of courtship which makes the most exquisite moment of youth, the freshest blossom-time of passion,--when each is sure of the other's love, but no formal declaration has been made, and all is mutual divination, exalting the most trivial word, the lightest gesture, into thrills delicate and delicious as wafted jasmine scent.

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Courtship, love, presents, jointures, settlements have no place in their thoughts, or terms whereby to express them in their language.

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The stupidity with which he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance; and Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained.

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This amazed Nicholas and even made him regard Bolkonski's courtship skeptically.

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Not to tire the reader, by leading him through every scene of this courtship (which, though in the opinion of a certain great author, it is the pleasantest scene of life to the actor, is, perhaps, as dull and tiresome as any whatever to the audience), the captain made his advances in form, the citadel was defended in form, and at length, in proper form, surrendered at discretion.

View in context

I'm not for long courtships, but there must be a bit o' time to make things comfortable."