[syn: woo, court]
3. engage in social activities leading to marriage;
- Example: "We were courting for over ten years"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Court \Court\ (k[=o]rt), n. [OF. court, curt, cort, F. cour, LL.
cortis, fr. L. cohors, cors, chors, gen. cohortis, cortis,
chortis, an inclosure, court, thing inclosed, crowd, throng;
co- + a root akin to Gr. chorto`s inclosure, feeding place,
and to E. garden, yard, orchard. See Yard, and cf.
Cohort, Curtain.]
1. An inclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in
by the walls of a building, or by different building;
also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded
by houses; a blind alley.
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The courts of the house of our God. --Ps. cxxxv.
2.
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And round the cool green courts there ran a row
Of cloisters. --Tennyson.
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Goldsmith took a garret in a miserable court.
--Macaulay.
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2. The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or other
dignitary; a palace.
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Attends the emperor in his royal court. --Shak.
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This our court, infected with their manners,
Shows like a riotous inn. --Shak.
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3. 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.
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My lord, there is a nobleman of the court at door
would speak with you. --Shak.
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Love rules the court, the camp, the grove. --Sir. W.
Scott.
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4. Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign; as,
to hold a court.
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The princesses held their court within the fortress.
--Macaulay.
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5. Attention directed to a person in power; conduct or
address designed to gain favor; courtliness of manners;
civility; compliment; flattery.
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No solace could her paramour intreat
Her once to show, ne court, nor dalliance.
--Spenser.
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I went to make my court to the Duke and Duchess of
Newcastle. --Evelyn.
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6. (Law)
(a) The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is
administered.
(b) 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 causes.
(c) A tribunal established for the administration of
justice.
(d) The judge or judges; as distinguished from the counsel
or jury, or both.
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Most heartily I do beseech the court
To give the judgment. --Shak.
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7. The session of a judicial assembly.
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8. Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.
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9. A place arranged for playing the game of tennis; also, one
of the divisions of a tennis court.
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Christian court, the English ecclesiastical courts in the
aggregate, or any one of them.
Court breeding, education acquired at court.
Court card. Same as Coat card.
Court circular, one or more paragraphs of news respecting
the sovereign and the royal family, together with the
proceedings or movements of the court generally, supplied
to the newspapers by an officer specially charged with
such duty. [Eng.] --Edwards.
Court of claims (Law), a court for settling claims against
a state or government; specif., a court of the United
States, created by act of Congress, and holding its
sessions at Washington. It is given jurisdiction over
claims on contracts against the government, and sometimes
may advise the government as to its liabilities. [Webster
1913 Suppl.]
Court day, a day on which a court sits to administer
justice.
Court dress, the dress prescribed for appearance at the
court of a sovereign.
Court fool, a buffoon or jester, formerly kept by princes
and nobles for their amusement.
Court guide, a directory of the names and adresses of the
nobility and gentry in a town.
Court hand, the hand or manner of writing used in records
and judicial proceedings. --Shak.
Court lands (Eng. Law), lands kept in demesne, -- that is,
for the use of the lord and his family.
Court marshal, one who acts as marshal for a court.
Court party, a party attached to the court.
Court rolls, the records of a court. SeeRoll.
Court in banc, or Court in bank, The full court sitting
at its regular terms for the hearing of arguments upon
questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at nisi
prius.
Court of Arches, audience, etc. See under Arches,
Audience, etc.
Court of Chancery. See Chancery, n.
Court of Common pleas. (Law) See Common pleas, under
Common.
Court of Equity. See under Equity, and Chancery.
Court of Inquiry (Mil.), a court appointed to inquire into
and report on some military matter, as the conduct of an
officer.
Court of St. James, the usual designation of the British
Court; -- so called from the old palace of St. James,
which is used for the royal receptions, levees, and
drawing-rooms.
The court of the Lord, the temple at Jerusalem; hence, a
church, or Christian house of worship.
General Court, the legislature of a State; -- so called
from having had, in the colonial days, judicial power; as,
the General Court of Massachusetts. [U.S.]
To pay one's court, to seek to gain favor by attentions.
"Alcibiades was assiduous in paying his court to
Tissaphernes." --Jowett.
To put out of court, to refuse further judicial hearing.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Court \Court\, v. i.
1. To play the lover; to woo; as, to go courting.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Court \Court\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Courted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Courting.]
1. To endeavor to gain the favor of by attention or flattery;
to try to ingratiate one's self with.
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By one person, hovever, Portland was still
assiduously courted. --Macaulay.
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2. To endeavor to gain the affections of; to seek in
marriage; to woo.
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If either of you both love Katharina . . .
Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure.
--Shak.
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3. To attempt to gain; to solicit; to seek.
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They might almost seem to have courted the crown of
martyrdom. --Prescott.
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Guilt and misery . . . court privacy and solitude.
--De Quincey.
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4. To invite by attractions; to allure; to attract.
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A well-worn pathway courted us
To one green wicket in a privet hedge. --Tennyson.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
court
n 1: an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct
judicial business [syn: court, tribunal, judicature]
2: a room in which a lawcourt sits; "television cameras were
admitted in the courtroom" [syn: court, courtroom]
3: the sovereign and his advisers who are the governing power of
a state [syn: court, royal court]
4: a specially marked horizontal area within which a game is
played; "players had to reserve a court in advance"
5: Australian woman tennis player who won many major
championships (born in 1947) [syn: Court, Margaret Court]
6: the family and retinue of a sovereign or prince [syn:
court, royal court]
7: a hotel for motorists; provides direct access from rooms to
parking area [syn: motor hotel, motor inn, motor lodge,
tourist court, court]
8: a tribunal that is presided over by a magistrate or by one or
more judges who administer justice according to the laws
[syn: court, lawcourt, court of law, court of
justice]
9: the residence of a sovereign or nobleman; "the king will
visit the duke's court"
10: an area wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings;
"the house was built around an inner court" [syn: court,
courtyard]
11: respectful deference; "pay court to the emperor" [syn:
court, homage]
v 1: make amorous advances towards; "John is courting Mary"
[syn: woo, court, romance, solicit]
2: seek someone's favor; "China is wooing Russia" [syn: woo,
court]
3: engage in social activities leading to marriage; "We were
courting for over ten years"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
339 Moby Thesaurus words for "court":
Autobahn, British Cabinet, Rasputin, Sanhedrin, Svengali,
US Cabinet, US highway, VIP, access, act up to, address, addresses,
advisory body, agree to anything, alley, alleyway, allure,
amorous pursuit, angle for, approach, archery ground, arena,
arterial, arterial highway, arterial street, artery, assembly,
association, athletic field, attendance, attendant, attract,
autoroute, autostrada, avenue, bad influence, badminton court, bar,
baseball field, basketball court, beak, beau, belt highway, bench,
bicameral legislature, bid for, big wheel, billiard parlor,
blind alley, board, board of aldermen, body of advisers,
body of retainers, borough council, boulevard, bowling alley,
bowling green, brain trust, break the ice, brown-nose, bypass,
byway, cabinet, camarilla, camino real, canvass, captivate,
carriageway, castle, causeway, causey, chamber,
chamber of deputies, charm, chase, chaussee, cincture,
circumferential, city board, city council, close, cohort,
commission, common council, conference, confine, congress,
consultative assembly, container, coop, corduroy road, cortege,
council, council fire, council of ministers, council of state,
council of war, county council, county road, course,
court of arbitration, court of justice, court of law, courthouse,
courting, courtroom, courtyard, crescent, cricket ground,
croquet ground, croquet lawn, cul-de-sac, cultivate, curry favor,
curtilage, dance attendance on, dead-end street,
deliberative assembly, delimited field, diamond, diet, dike,
directory, dirt road, divan, dock, drive, driveway, eminence grise,
enclave, enclosure, entourage, esquire, expressway, fairway,
fall over, fawn upon, federal assembly, field, fish for,
five-percenter, fold, follow, follower, following, football field,
freeway, friend at court, gallantry, general assembly, glaciarium,
golf course, golf links, good influence, gravel road,
gray eminence, gridiron, ground, gym, gymnasium, heavyweight,
hidden hand, highroad, highway, highways and byways,
house of assembly, ice rink, infield, influence, influence peddler,
influencer, ingroup, interstate highway, judgment, judicatory,
judicature, judicial process, judiciary, junta, jury box, justice,
key, kingmaker, kitchen cabinet, lane, law court, lay siege to,
legal tribunal, legislative assembly, legislative body,
legislative chamber, legislature, links, list, lobby, lobbyist,
local road, look for, lords of creation, lower chamber,
lower house, magistrate, main drag, main road, make advances,
make court to, make suit to, make up to, man of influence,
manipulator, mansion, mews, motorway, national assembly,
open sesame, outfield, oval, palace, palais, palatial residence,
palazzo, pale, paling, parasite, parish council, park, parkway,
parliament, pave, paved road, pay addresses to, pay attention to,
pay court to, pen, pike, place, plank road, play up to, playground,
playing field, playroom, polish the apple, polo ground, pool hall,
poolroom, pop the question, powers that be, pressure group,
primary highway, private road, privy council,
provincial legislature, provincial parliament, pursue,
putting green, quad, quadrangle, racecourse, racket court,
representative town meeting, retinue, right-of-way, ring road,
rink, road, roadbed, roadway, rout, route nationale, row,
royal road, run after, satellite, secondary road, seek, serenade,
shine up to, sinister influence, skating rink, soccer field,
solicit, soviet, spark, special interests, special-interest group,
speedway, square, squash court, squire, staff, state assembly,
state highway, state legislature, street, stretch, suck up to, sue,
sue for, suing, suit, suite, superhighway, swain, sweetheart,
syndicate, synod, tennis court, terrace, the Establishment,
the courts, theater, thoroughfare, through street, thruway, toft,
toll road, tower, town hall, town house, town meeting,
township road, track, train, tribunal, turf, turnpike,
unicameral legislature, upper chamber, upper house,
very important person, villa, wheeler-dealer, wire-puller,
witness box, witness stand, woo, wooing, wynd, yard
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:
Court
the enclosure of the tabernacle (Ex. 27:9-19; 40:8), of the
temple (1 Kings 6:36), of a prison (Neh. 3:25), of a private
house (2 Sam. 17:18), and of a king's palace (2 Kings 20:4).
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
COURT, practice. A court is an incorporeal political being, which requires
for its existence, the presence of the judges, or a competent number of
them, and a clerk or prothonotary, at the time during which, and at the
place where it is by law authorized to be held; and the performance of some
public act, indicative of a design to perform the functions of a court.
2. In another sense, the judges, clerk, or prothonotary, counsellors
and ministerial officers, are said to constitute the court.
3. According to Lord, Coke, a court is a place where justice is
judicially administered. Co. Litt. 58, a.
4. The judges, when duly convened, are also called the court. Vide 6
Vin. Ab. 484; Wheat. Dig. 127; Merl. Rep. h.t.; 3 Com. Dig. 300; 8 Id.
386; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t.; Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t.
5. It sometimes happens that the judges composing a court are equally
divided on questions discussed before them. It has been decided, that when
such is the case on an appeal or writ of error, the judgment or decree is
affirmed. 10 Wheat. 66; 11 Id. 59. If it occurs on a motion in arrest of
judgment, a judgment is to be entered on the verdict. 2 Dall. Rep. 388. If
on a motion for a new trial, the motion is rejected. 6 Wheat. 542. If on a
motion to enter judgment on a verdict, the judgment is entered. 6 Binn. 100.
In England, if the house of lords be equally divided on a writ of error, the
judgment of the court below is affirmed. 1 Arch. Pr. 235. So in Cam. Scacc.
1 Arch. Pr. 240. But in error coram nobis, no judgment can be given if the
judges are equally divided, except by consent. 1 Arch. Pr. 246. When the
judges are equally divided on the admission of testimony, it cannot be
received. But see 3 Yeates, 171. Also, 2 Bin. 173; 3 Bin. 113 4 Bin. 157; 1
Johns. Rep. 118 4 Wash. C. C. Rep. 332, 3. See Division of Opinion.
6. Courts are of various kinds. When considered as to their powers,
they are of record and not of record; Bac. Ab. Courts, D; when compared. to
each other, they are supreme, superior, and inferior, Id.; when examined as
to their original jurisdiction, they are civil or criminal; when viewed as
to their territorial jurisdiction, they are central or local; when divided
as to their object, they are courts of law, courts of equity, courts
martial, admiralty courts, and ecclesiastical courts. They are also courts
of original jurisdiction, courts of error, and courts of appeal. Vide Open
Court.
7. Courts of record cannot be deprived of their jurisdiction except by
express negative words. 9 Serg. & R. 298; 3 Yeates, 479 2 Burr. 1042 1 Wm.
Bl. Rep. 285. And such a court is the court of common pleas in Pennsylvania.
6 Serg. & R. 246.
8. Courts of equity are not, in general, courts of record. Their
decrees touch the person, not lands. or goods. 3 Caines, 36. Yet, as to
personalty, their decrees are equal to a judgment; 2. Madd. Chan. 355; 2
Salk., 507; 1 Ver. 214; 3 Caines, 35; and have preference according to
priority. 3 P. Wms. 401 n.; Cas. Temp. Talb. 217; 4 Bro. P. C. 287; 4 Johns.
Chan. Cas. 638. They are also conclusive between the parties. 6 Wheat. 109.
Assumpsit will lie on a decree of a foreign court of chancery for a sum
certain; 1 Campb. Rep. 253, per Lord Kenyon; but not for a sum not
ascertained. 3 Caines, 37, (n.) In Pennsylvania, an action at law will lie
on a decree of a court of chancery, but the pleas nil debet and nul tiel
record cannot be pleaded in such an action. 9 Serg. & R. 258.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
COURT, PRIZE. One of the branches of the English admiralty, is called a
prize court. Vide Prize Court.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
COURT, INSTANCE. One of the branches of the English admiralty is called an
instance court. Vide Instance Court.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
COURT, SUPREME. Supreme court is the name of a court having jurisdiction
over all other courts Vide Courts of the United States.