courtly

/ˈkɔːtli/

//ˈkɔːtli// adj

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

"courtly" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“courtly” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,552. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,552
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Befitting of a royal court; reflecting the manners or behaviour of people at court.

Corpus desk

Index EN-courtly · courtly · English

courtly · rank #47,552 · 11 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,552
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Courtenay

Nearest frequency peer: Courtenay (-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 “courtly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “courtly” 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).

courtly vs curly
71% similar
courtly vs courts
71% similar
courtly vs Courtney
63% similar

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

Key facts for courtly
PropertyValue
Headwordcourtly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈkɔːtli/
Letters7
Frequency rank#47,552
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “courtly”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Courtenay” (#47,551), “Cupertino” (#47,553), “cours” (#47,550). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “courtly” is #47,552. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around courtly (IPA /ˈkɔːtli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #47,552 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for courtly, with forms such as "ccourtly", "corutly", and "courlty". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "curly", "courts", "Courtney", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English courtly, equivalent to court + -ly. The correct English form is courtly, spelled C-O-U-R-T-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Befitting of a royal court; reflecting the manners or behaviour of people at court.
  2. 2
    Of or relating to a royal court.
  3. 3
    Overly eager to please or obey.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He swept off his hat and made a deep courtly bow.
  2. The troubadours sang songs about courtly love.

Etymology

From Middle English courtly, equivalent to court + -ly.

This word in other languages

courtois(Français)höfisch(Deutsch)cortês(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccourtly
  • corutly
  • courlty
  • courrtly
  • courtlly
  • courtlyy
  • courttly
  • courtyl
  • coutrly
  • cuortly
  • ocurtly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of courtly - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccourtly1corutly2courlty2courrtly1courtlly1courtlyy1courttly1courtyl2
Edit distance from "courtly"

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 "courtly"?
"courtly" is spelled C-O-U-R-T-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɔːtli/.
What does "courtly" mean?
As an adjective, "courtly" means: Befitting of a royal court; reflecting the manners or behaviour of people at court.
What words are commonly confused with "courtly"?
"courtly" is commonly confused with "curly", "courts", "Courtney". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "courtly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "courtly" is /ˈkɔːtli/. 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 "courtly"?
From Middle English courtly, equivalent to court + -ly. 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 "courtly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cutlass#47,554dabbing#47,559conifer#47,543Derrida#47,574

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

colloidal11 variantscesarean11 variantsDevereux11 variantscarotene11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list