courtesan
/kɔːtɪˈzæn/ noun
Forms courtesans courtezan
- noun A female prostitute, especially one with high-status or wealthy clients.
- noun (dated) The mistress of a royal or noble.
- noun (archaic) A woman of a royal or noble court.
- noun (chess) A fairy chess piece that can move to any adjacent square, that, when captured, the capturing piece is also eliminated.
Synonyms
abandons alley cat almah bangtail Bankside lady bargirl bat beotch blouze blowen blowsabella brass nail brasser brass broad business girl calico queen callet cat chippy concubine doxy paramour
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French courtisane, from Italian cortigiana, feminine of cortigiano (“courtier”), from corte (“court”), itself from Latin cohors.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A woman who prostitutes herself for hire; a prostitute; a harlot.
Etymology [F. courtisane, fr. courtisan courtier, It. cortigiano; or directly fr. It. cortigiana, or Sp. cortesana. See Court.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “courtesan”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details