courtship

/ˈkɔːt.ʃɪp/

//ˈkɔːt.ʃɪp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“courtship” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,631. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,631
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of paying court, that is, demonstrating such politeness and respect as is traditionally given at a court (“a formal assembly of a sovereign's retinue”).

Corpus desk

Index EN-courtship · courtship · English

courtship · rank #22,631 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,631
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH counteract

Nearest frequency peer: counteract (-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 “courtship”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “courtship” 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
Key facts for courtship
PropertyValue
Headwordcourtship
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɔːt.ʃɪp/
Letters9
Frequency rank#22,631
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “courtship”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).courtshiplands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “counteract” (#22,630), “Corbett” (#22,629), “craven” (#22,633). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “courtship” is #22,631. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around courtship (IPA /ˈkɔːt.ʃɪp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,631 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for courtship, with forms such as "ccourtship", "corutship", and "courrtship". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From court (“demonstration of such respect as is traditionally given at court; attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favour; politeness of manner; civility towards someone”) + -ship (suffix forming nouns indicating a property o… The correct English form is courtship, spelled C-O-U-R-T-S-H-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of paying court, that is, demonstrating such politeness and respect as is traditionally given at a court (“a formal assembly of a sovereign's retinue”).
  2. 2
    The act of paying court, that is, demonstrating such politeness and respect as is traditionally given at a court (“a formal assembly of a sovereign's retinue”).
  3. 3
    The act of paying court, that is, demonstrating such politeness and respect as is traditionally given at a court (“a formal assembly of a sovereign's retinue”).
  4. 4
    The act of paying court, that is, demonstrating such politeness and respect as is traditionally given at a court (“a formal assembly of a sovereign's retinue”).
  5. 5
    Elegance or propriety of manners fitting for a court; courtliness; (by extension) courteous or polite behaviour; courtesy.
  6. 6
    The pursuit of being a courtier, such as exercising diplomacy, finesse, etc.; also, the artifices and intrigues of a court; courtcraft.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Our ſelfe and Buſhie, / Obſerued his courtſhip to the common people, / How he did ſeeme to diue into their harts, / With humble and familiar courteſie, / What reuerence he did throw away on ſlaues, [...]
  2. So reverend Juno headlong flew, and 'gainst her stomach striv'd. / For (being amongst th' immortal gods, in high heaven, soon arriv'd, / All rising, welcoming with cups her little absence then) / She all their courtships overpast with solemn negligence, / Save that which fair-cheek'd Themis show'd, and her kind cup she took: [...]

Etymology

From court (“demonstration of such respect as is traditionally given at court; attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favour; politeness of manner; civility towards someone”) + -ship (suffix forming nouns indicating a property or state of being).

Synonyms

courtshipdatingloveshipsuitwooing

This word in other languages

cortejo(Español)cour(Français)Brautwerbung(Deutsch)cortejo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccourtship
  • corutship
  • courrtship
  • coursthip
  • courthsip
  • courtshhip
  • courtshipp
  • courtshpi
  • courtsihp
  • courtsship
  • courttship
  • coutrship
  • cuortship
  • ocurtship

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of courtship - 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.

ccourtship1corutship2courrtship1coursthip2courthsip2courtshhip1courtshipp1courtshpi2
Edit distance from "courtship"

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 "courtship"?
"courtship" is spelled C-O-U-R-T-S-H-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɔːt.ʃɪp/.
What does "courtship" mean?
As a noun, "courtship" means: The act of paying court, that is, demonstrating such politeness and respect as is traditionally given at a court (“a formal assembly of a sovereign's retinue”).
What are common misspellings of "courtship"?
Common misspellings include "ccourtship", "corutship", "courrtship", "coursthip", "courthsip". The correct spelling is "courtship".
How do you pronounce "courtship"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "courtship" is /ˈkɔːt.ʃɪp/. 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 "courtship"?
From court (“demonstration of such respect as is traditionally given at court; attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favour; politeness of manner; civility towards someone”) + -ship (suffix forming nouns indicating a ... 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 "courtship", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

complicit#22,623deepening#22,640dystopian#22,654entourage#22,661

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

caricature14 variantsbreathless14 variantsFremantle14 variantsglittering14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list