courtier
/ˈkɔɹtiɚ/
"courtier" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“courtier” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #44,714 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #44,714
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person in attendance at a royal court.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | courtier |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɔɹtiɚ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #44,714 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “courtier” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for courtier is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɔɹtiɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #44,714 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for courtier, with forms such as "ccourtier", "corutier", and "couriter". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Courtney", "courtiers", "courier", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English courteour, from Anglo-Norman corteour, Old French cortoiier, from cort (“court”). The correct English form is courtier, spelled C-O-U-R-T-I-E-R.
Definition
- 1A person in attendance at a royal court.
- 2A person who flatters in order to seek favour.
- 3Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Sephisa.
Etymology
From Middle English courteour, from Anglo-Norman corteour, Old French cortoiier, from cort (“court”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccourtier,corutier,couriter,courrtier,courteir,courtierr,courtire,courttier,coutrier,cuortier,ocurtier
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of courtier - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "courtier"?
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Using “courtier”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-U-R-T-I-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɔɹtiɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Courtney” - see the side-by-side comparison. courtier vs Courtney
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.