court

An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.

(Australia, US) A street with no outlet, a cul-de-sac.

(Hong Kong, only used in names) A housing estate under the Home Ownership Scheme.

A housing estate under the Home Ownership Scheme.

(Hong Kong, only used in names) An apartment building, or a small development of several apartment buildings.

The girls were playing in the court.

All round the cool green courts there ran a row / Of cloisters, branched like mighty woods, / Echoing all night to that sonorous flow / Of spouted fountain floods.

1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “The Palace of Art”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza XXX, page 77:

Goldsmith took a garret in a miserable court.

1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Oliver Goldsmith”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC:

The noblemen visited the queen in her court.

This our court, infected with their manners, / Shows like a riotous inn.

c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:

The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or other dignitary; a palace.

Meronym: royal household

The queen and her court traveled to the city to welcome back the soldiers.

My lord, there is a nobleman of the court at door would speak with you.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

Love rules the court, the camp, the grove.

1819–1824, [Lord Byron], Don Juan, London, (please specify |canto=I to XVII):

The collective body of persons composing the retinue of a sovereign or person high in authority; all the surroundings of a sovereign in his regal state.

The princesses[…] held their court within the fortress.

1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XX, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign.

Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign.

No solace could her paramour entreat / Her once to show, ne court, nor dalliance.

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

I went to make court to the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle at their house in Clerkenwell.

1667 April 28 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 18 April 1667]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:

Attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favor; politeness of manner; civility towards someone.

Many famous criminals have been put on trial in this court.

The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered.

The court started proceedings at 11 o'clock.

Next month, Clemons will be brought before a court presided over by a "special master", who will review the case one last time. The hearing will be unprecedented in its remit, but at its core will be a simple issue: should Reggie Clemons live or die?

2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian:

536(2.1). ... You have the option to elect to be tried by a provincial court judge without a jury; or you may elect to be tried by a judge without a jury; or you may elect to be tried by a court composed of a judge and jury.

1985, “Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)”, in Justice Canada, retrieved 2020-03-01:

The persons officially assembled under authority of law, at the appropriate time and place, for the administration of justice; an official assembly, legally met together for the transaction of judicial business; a judge or judges sitting for the hearing or trial of cases.

Each province in Canada has three courts: a provincial court, a superior court, and a court of appeals.

An organization for the administration of law, consisting of a body of judges with a certain jurisdiction along with its administrative apparatus.

A case conference in person was convened.... To emphasize that it was a Court proceeding the Court was gowned.

2017 May 5, Kevin R. Aalto, “Gordon v. Canada, 2017 FC 454”, in CanLII, retrieved 2020-02-23:

[5]... defence alleges there is a reasonable apprehension of bias based on the cumulative effect of several issues including the following: (1) The Court was “crying” during the victim impact statement; (2) The Court laughed or “scoffed” when defence stated its sentencing position; ...(6) The Court’s tone, facial expression and demeanor throughout the proceedings...

2018 August 17, M.F. McParland, “R. v. Carlson, 2018 BCPC 209”, in CanLII, retrieved 2020-03-01:

(often capitalized) The judge or judges or other judicial officer presiding in a particular matter, particularly as distinguished from the counsel or jury, or both.

The court is now in session.

On Thursday morning, a Hennepin County judge formally sentenced Julissa Thaler to the life sentence for Eli Hart's murder. […] After court, family said their focus now turns to fundraising a playground in Mound in Eli Hart's honor […]

2023 February 16, WCCO Staff, “Julissa Thaler sentenced to life in prison for murdering 6-year-old son, Eli Hart”, in cbsnews.com:

(law) The administration of law.
The session of a judicial assembly.

Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.

Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.

The local sports club has six tennis courts and two squash courts.

The shuttlecock landed outside the court.

By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.

1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:

(sports) A place arranged for playing the games of tennis, basketball, handball, badminton, volleyball, squash and some other games

The photograph at left captures a great serve by Dr. Sadowsky, who will never forget one of Bobby Riggs's serves, which had such a great spin that it landed in his court and bounced back to the other side of the net before he had a chance to return it.

one of the two divisions of a tennis, badminton or volleyball court, in which the player or players of each team play

The male Wilson's bird of paradise clears an area of rainforest to create a court in which to perform an elaborate mating dance.

(ornithology) A space prepared and decorated by certain bird species in which to advertise themselves for a mate.

→ Bulgarian: корт (kort)

→ French: court

desctree

→ Russian: корт (kort)
→ Armenian: կորտ (kort)

→ Russian: корт (kort)
→ Armenian: կորտ (kort)

Huaf

residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or ether dignitary

Huaf

formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign

դատարան

persons officially assembled under authority of law

geregshof

tribunal established for the administration of justice

مَلْعَب

place for playing the game of tennis and some other ball games

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

caught (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger)

From Middle English court, from Old French cort, curt, from Latin cōrtem (accusative of cōrs), ultimately from cohors. Doublet of cohort.


court

He was courting big new accounts that previous salesmen had not attempted.

On the contrary, they employed the brief respite that was left them in fortifying one another's courage, and in bearing testimony to the truth in so earnest a manner that they might almost seem to have courted the crown of martyrdom.

1800, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of The Reign of Philip The Second, King of Spain, volume 3:

Guilt and misery shrink, by a natural instinct, from public notice: they court privacy and solitude: and even in their choice of a grave will sometimes sequester themselves from the general population of the churchyard […]

1821, Thomas De Quincey, “To the Reader”, in Confessions of an English Opium-Eater:

(transitive) To seek to achieve or win (a prize).

She courted controversy with her frank speeches.

It is not unknown for hot axleboxes to fail completely and for wagons to become derailed as a result. Surely it is courting disaster to allow a train to proceed for up to seven miles with a defective vehicle before it can be brought to a halt?

1964 April, “Automatic Signalling Problems in an Emergency”, in Modern Railways, page 273:

(transitive) To risk (a consequence, usually negative).

If either of you both love Katharina […] / Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure.

c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, act 1, scene 1:

(transitive) To try to win a commitment to marry from.

The bird was courting a potential mate by performing an elaborate dance.

By one person, however, Portland was still assiduously courted, and that person was the king.

1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 24, in The History of England: From the Accession of James II, volume 5:

(transitive) To engage in behavior conducive to mating with.

[…] a well-worn pathway courted us / To one green wicket in a privet hedge […]

a. 1835, Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Gardener's Daughter:

It is a grim, grey old town, standing on bleak, precipitous cliffs that court every passing hurricane, […]

1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:

(transitive) To attempt to attract; to invite by attractions; to allure.

(transitive) To attempt to gain alliance with.

She's had a few beaus come courting.

(intransitive) To engage in activities intended to win affections.

At this time of year, you can see many animals courting.

(intransitive) To engage in courtship behavior.

en-verb

court (third-person singular simple present courts, present participle courting, simple past and past participle courted)

courts (present singular third-person)
courting (participle present)
courted (participle past)
courted (past)