courtesan

/kɔːtɪˈzæn/

//kɔːtɪˈzæn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"courtesan" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“courtesan” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,584. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,584
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female prostitute, especially one with high-status or wealthy clients.

Corpus desk

Index EN-courtesan · courtesan · English

courtesan · rank #43,584 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #43,584
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH coupler

Nearest frequency peer: coupler (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “courtesan”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “courtesan” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

courtesan vs courtesy
78% similar
courtesan vs Courtenay
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for courtesan
PropertyValue
Headwordcourtesan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɔːtɪˈzæn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#43,584
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “courtesan”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).courtesanlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “coupler” (#43,583), “Cristobal” (#43,585), “counterweight” (#43,582). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “courtesan” is #43,584. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around courtesan (IPA /kɔːtɪˈzæn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #43,584 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for courtesan, with forms such as "ccourtesan", "corutesan", and "couretsan". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "courtesy", "Courtenay", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French courtisane, from Italian cortigiana, feminine of cortigiano (“courtier”), from corte (“court”), itself from Latin cohors. The correct English form is courtesan, spelled C-O-U-R-T-E-S-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female prostitute, especially one with high-status or wealthy clients.
  2. 2
    The mistress of a royal or noble.
  3. 3
    A woman of a royal or noble court.
  4. 4
    A fairy chess piece that can move to any adjacent square, that, when captured, the capturing piece is also eliminated.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how courtesan appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. What wine, what drug, what philtre known of man / Will drown this ancient foe, / Ruthless and ravenous as a courtesan, / Sure as an ant, and slow?
  2. In the notes he wrote for Nana, his novel about a courtesan in Second Empire Paris, Zola imagined ‘a whole society hurling itself’ at her body, ‘a pack of hounds after a bitch, who is not even on heat and makes fun of the hounds following her’. This might also describe the life of Harriette Wilson, whose unguarded pursuit by the leaders of the British ari…

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French courtisane, from Italian cortigiana, feminine of cortigiano (“courtier”), from corte (“court”), itself from Latin cohors.

This word in other languages

cortesana(Español)courtisane(Français)Hofdame(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccourtesan
  • corutesan
  • couretsan
  • courrtesan
  • courteasn
  • courtesann
  • courtesna
  • courtessan
  • courtsean
  • courttesan
  • coutresan
  • cuortesan
  • ocurtesan

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of courtesan - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccourtesan1corutesan2couretsan2courrtesan1courteasn2courtesann1courtesna2courtessan1
Edit distance from "courtesan"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "courtesan"?
"courtesan" is spelled C-O-U-R-T-E-S-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kɔːtɪˈzæn/.
What does "courtesan" mean?
As a noun, "courtesan" means: A female prostitute, especially one with high-status or wealthy clients.
What words are commonly confused with "courtesan"?
"courtesan" is commonly confused with "courtesy", "Courtenay". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "courtesan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "courtesan" is /kɔːtɪˈzæn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "courtesan"?
Borrowed from Middle French courtisane, from Italian cortigiana, feminine of cortigiano (“courtier”), from corte (“court”), itself from Latin cohors. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "courtesan", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Cristobal#43,585cornering#43,580Dalmatian#43,591deuterium#43,601

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

classifier13 variantsdownwind13 variantsduckling13 variantsBridgend13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list