courtier
Americannoun
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a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage.
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a person who seeks favor by flattery, charm, etc.
noun
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an attendant at a court
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a person who seeks favour in an ingratiating manner
Other Word Forms
- undercourtier noun
Etymology
Origin of courtier
1250–1300; Middle English courteour < Anglo-French courte ( i ) our, equivalent to Old French cortoy ( er ) to attend at court (derivative of court court ) + Anglo-French -our < Latin -ōr- -or 2; suffix later conformed to -ier 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He has survived multiple damaging scandals and found his way back to power every time, like a wily Renaissance courtier or an unkillable horror-movie villain, and may well survive this one.
From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025
"There has been a large amount of government pressure to make this massive and that's been the challenge," one courtier told me.
From BBC • Sep. 15, 2025
The walking style of a courtier, for instance, “will be very different than a merchant’s wife,” Kanesaka says.
From Washington Post • Mar. 15, 2023
Guilt over his father’s death is part of what drives him to make himself indispensable to Sunny, a courtier currying a prince’s favor.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 3, 2023
“Please,” said another courtier, “tell me that Chaol doesn’t suddenly have a wife.”
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
