| / English Dictionary |
COURTLY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: courtlier , courtliest
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court
Example:
a courtly gentleman
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
dignified (having or expressing dignity; especially formality or stateliness in bearing or appearance)
Derivation:
court (the residence of a sovereign or nobleman)
court (the sovereign and his advisers who are the governing power of a state)
court (the family and retinue of a sovereign or prince)
courtliness (elegance suggestive of a royal court)
Context examples:
He bowed in a courtly way as he replied:— "I am Dracula; and I bid you welcome, Mr. Harker, to my house. Come in; the night air is chill, and you must need to eat and rest."
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
The land where their fathers had bled, the home of chivalry and of knightly deeds, the country of gallant men, of courtly women, of princely buildings, of the wise, the polished and the sainted.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
You must make your conversation regarding my dear new country of England less interesting, so that I may not forget how time flies by us, and, with a courtly bow, he quickly left me.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
He took it and said tenderly:— "Oh, Madam Mina, I knew that the friend of that poor lily girl must be good, but I had yet to learn—" He finished his speech with a courtly bow.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
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