courtier
/ˈkɔɹtiɚ/noun
courtier is spelled C-O-U-R-T-I-E-R: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, courtier means “A person in attendance at a royal court” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of courtier is courtiers.
How many letters and syllables are in courtier?
| Letters | 8: C-O-U-R-T-I-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,767th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is courtier?
Courtier appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce courtier?
- US /ˈkɔɹtiɚ/
- UK /ˈkɔːtɪə/
- /ˈko(ː)ɹtiɚ/
Courtier has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-courtier.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of courtier
- courtiers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does courtier mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person in attendance at a royal court.
- 2
A person who flatters in order to seek favour.
- 3
Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Sephisa.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Courtier in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | courtisan |
| German | Höfling , Schmeichler |
| Portuguese | cortesão |
| Spanish | cortesano |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does courtier come from?
From Middle English courteour, from Anglo-Norman corteour, Old French cortoiier, from cort (“court”). By surface analysis, court + -ier.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).