Court definition | Dictionary.com

court

[kawrt, kohrt]

–noun

Law.

a.	a place where justice is administered.

b.	a judicial tribunal duly constituted for the hearing and determination of cases.

c.	a session of a judicial assembly.

2.	an area open to the sky and mostly or entirely surrounded by buildings, walls, etc.

3.	a high interior usually having a glass roof and surrounded by several stories of galleries or the like.

4.	Chiefly Irish. a stately dwelling.

5.	a short street.

6.	a smooth, level quadrangle on which to play tennis, basketball, etc.

7.	one of the divisions of such an area.

8.	the residence of a sovereign or other high dignitary; palace.

9.	a sovereign's or dignitary's retinue.

10.	a sovereign and councilors as the political rulers of a state.

11.	a formal assembly held by a sovereign.

12.	homage paid, as to a king.

13.	special or devoted attention in order to win favor, affection, etc.: to pay court to the king.

14.	the body of qualified members of a corporation, council, board, etc.

15.	a branch or lodge of a fraternal society.

16.

Animal Behavior.

a.	an area where animals of a particular species gather to display.

b.	the group of insects, as honeybees, surrounding the queen; retinue.

–verb (used with object)

17.	to try to win the favor, preference, or goodwill of: to court the rich.

18.	to seek the affections of; woo.

19.	(of animals) to attempt to attract (a mate) by engaging in certain species-specific behaviors.

20.	to attempt to gain (applause, favor, a decision, etc.).

21.	to hold out inducements to; invite.

22.	to act in such a manner as to cause, lead to, or provoke: to court disaster by reckless driving.

–verb (used without object)

23.	to seek another's love; woo.

24.	(of animals) to engage in certain species-specific behaviors in order to attract individuals of the opposite sex for mating.

—Idioms

25.

hold court,

a.	to have a formal assembly of a judicial tribunal or one held by a sovereign.

b.	to be surrounded by one's disciples or admirers, giving advice, exchanging gossip, receiving compliments, etc.

26.

out of court,

a.	without a legal hearing; privately: The case will be settled out of court.

b.	out of the question; undeserving of discussion: This wild scheme is entirely out of court.

Origin:
1125–75; ME co(u)rt < AF, OF < L cohort- (s. of cohors) farmyard; see cohort

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Language Translation for : Court

Spanish:

juzgado,

German:

das Gericht,

Japanese:

法廷

View 30 other languages »

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Court

[kawrt, kohrt]

–noun

Margaret Smith, born 1942, Australian tennis player.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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court (kôrt, kōrt) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. An extent of open ground partially or completely enclosed by walls or buildings; a courtyard.
2. Abbr. Ct. A short street, especially a wide alley walled by buildings on three sides.
3. A large open section of a building, often with a glass roof or skylight.
4. A large building, such as a mansion, standing in a courtyard.
5. The place of residence of a sovereign or dignitary; a royal mansion or palace.
6. The retinue of a sovereign, including the royal family and personal servants, advisers, and ministers.
7. A sovereign's governing body, including the council of ministers and state advisers.
8. A formal meeting or reception presided over by a sovereign.
9. A person or body of persons whose task is to hear and submit a decision on cases at law.
10. The building, hall, or room in which such cases are heard and determined.
11. The regular session of a judicial assembly.
12. A similar authorized tribunal having military or ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
1. The place of residence of a sovereign or dignitary; a royal mansion or palace.
2. The retinue of a sovereign, including the royal family and personal servants, advisers, and ministers.
3. A sovereign's governing body, including the council of ministers and state advisers.
4. A formal meeting or reception presided over by a sovereign.
5. A person or body of persons whose task is to hear and submit a decision on cases at law.
6. The building, hall, or room in which such cases are heard and determined.
7. The regular session of a judicial assembly.
8. A similar authorized tribunal having military or ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Law
1. A person or body of persons whose task is to hear and submit a decision on cases at law.
2. The building, hall, or room in which such cases are heard and determined.
3. The regular session of a judicial assembly.
4. A similar authorized tribunal having military or ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Sports An open level area marked with appropriate lines, upon which a game, such as tennis, handball, or basketball, is played.
The body of directors of an organization, especially of a corporation.
A legislative assembly.

v. court·ed, court·ing, courts

v. tr.

1. To attempt to gain; seek: courting wealth and fame.
2. To behave so as to invite or incur: courts disaster by taking drugs.
To try to gain the love or affections of, especially to seek to marry.
To attempt to gain the favor of by attention or flattery: a salesperson courting a potential customer.
Zoology To behave so as to attract (a mate).

v. intr.

To pursue a courtship; woo.
Zoology To engage in courtship behavior.

[Middle English, from Old French cort, from Latin cohors, cohort-, courtyard, retinue; see gher-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Court (kôrt, kōrt) Pronunciation Key
Australian tennis player who won 26 Grand Slam singles titles and, in 1970, the Grand Slam (Wimbledon, French, U.S., and Australian titles in the same year).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Cite This Source

court

1175, from O.Fr. curt, from L. cortem, acc. of cors (earlier cohors) "enclosed yard," and by extension (and perhaps by association with curia "sovereign's assembly"), "those assembled in the yard; company, cohort," from com- "together" + stem hort- related to hortus "garden, plot of ground" (see yard (1)). The verb meaning "woo, offer homage" (as at court) is first recorded 1580. Sporting sense is from 1519, originally of tennis. Legal meaning is from 1292 (early assemblies for justice were overseen by the sovereign personally); courthouse is from 1483. Court-martial is first attested 1571; as a verb, 1859. Courtier is from 1228; courtly "having manners befitting a court" is from 1450. Courtship "paying court to a woman with intention of marriage" is from 1596.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

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court
noun
1.	an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
2.	a room in which a lawcourt sits; "television cameras were admitted in the courtroom"
3.	the sovereign and his advisers who are the governing power of a state
4.	a specially marked horizontal area within which a game is played; "players had to reserve a court in advance"
5.	Australian woman tennis player who won many major championships (born in 1947)
6.	the family and retinue of a sovereign or prince
7.	a hotel for motorists; provides direct access from rooms to parking area [syn: motor hotel]
8.	a tribunal that is presided over by a magistrate or by one or more judges who administer justice according to the laws
9.	the residence of a sovereign or nobleman; "the king will visit the duke's court"
10.	an area wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings; "the house was built around an inner court"
11.	respectful deference; "pay court to the emperor"
verb
1.	make amorous advances towards; "John is courting Mary" [syn: woo]
2.	seek someone's favor; "China is wooing Russia" [syn: woo]
3.	engage in social activities leading to marriage; "We were courting for over ten years"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

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court

see ball's in your court; day in court; friend in court; hold court; kangaroo court; laugh out of court; pay court to.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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Main Entry: court
Pronunciation: 'kOrt
Function: noun
Etymology: Old French, enclosed space, royal entourage, court of justice, from Latin cohort- cohors farmyard, armed force, retinue
1 a : an official assembly for the administration of justice : a unit of the judicial branch of government courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish —U.S. Constitution article III> —see also the JUDICIAL SYSTEM in the back matter b : a session of such a court c usually cap : the Supreme Court of the United States
2 : a place (as a building, hall, or room) for the administration of justice court>
3 : a judge or judges acting in official capacity court> court may neither preside at nor attend the meeting of creditors —J. H. Williamson>
4 usually cap : a legislative body Court of Massachusetts>
5 : a body (as the International Court of Justice) exercising judicial powers over its members or the members of a body represented by it court>—out of court : without a court hearing : by private arrangement out of court>

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

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Court House, VA (district, FIPS 06390992)
Location: (36.912012, -80.332470)
Population (2000): 2,930 (1,433 housing units)
Area: 40.160233 sq mi (land), 0.001191 sq mi (water)

Charlotte Court House, VA (town, FIPS 14952)
Location: (37.056982, -78.634289)
Population (2000): 404 (177 housing units)
Area: 3.962630 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)

Chesterfield Court House, VA (CDP, FIPS 16208)
Location: (37.376449, -77.503798)
Population (2000): 3,558 (1,171 housing units)
Area: 2.276333 sq mi (land), 0.006545 sq mi (water)

Cape May Court House, NJ (CDP, FIPS 10300)
Location: (39.080425, -74.824428)
Population (2000): 4,704 (2,086 housing units)
Area: 8.975150 sq mi (land), 0.138381 sq mi (water)

Norwood Court, MO (town, FIPS 53462)
Location: (38.712250, -90.289275)
Population (2000): 1,061 (595 housing units)
Area: 0.136319 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)

Gray Court, SC (town, FIPS 30355)
Location: (34.608563, -82.114189)
Population (2000): 1,021 (398 housing units)
Area: 1.852960 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)

Gray Court, SC (CCD, FIPS 05991300)
Location: (34.640283, -82.140590)
Population (2000): 16,745 (6,575 housing units)
Area: 132.699136 sq mi (land), 0.541527 sq mi (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Court

Court\ (k?rt), n. [OF. court, curt, cort, F. co?r, LL. cortis, fr. L. cohors, cors, chors, gen. cohortis, cortis, chortis, an inclosure, court, thing inclosed, crowd, throng; co- + a root akin to Gr. ???? inclosure, feeding place, and to E. garden, yard, orchard. See Yard, and cf. Cohort, Curtain.]

1. An inclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different building; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.

The courts the house of our God. --Ps. cxxxv. 2.

And round the cool green courts there ran a row Cf cloisters. --Tennyson.

Goldsmith took a garret in a miserable court. --Macaulay.

2. The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or ether dignitary; a palace.

Attends the emperor in his royal court. --Shak.

This our court, infected with their manners, Shows like a riotous inn. --Shak.

3. The collective body of persons composing the retinue of a sovereign or person high in authority; all the surroundings of a sovereign in his regal state.

My lord, there is a nobleman of the court at door would speak with you. --Shak.

Love rules the court, the camp, the grove. --Sir. W. Scott.

4. Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign; as, to hold a court.

The princesses held their court within the fortress. --Macaulay.

5. Attention directed to a person in power; conduct or address designed to gain favor; courtliness of manners; civility; compliment; flattery.

No solace could her paramour intreat Her once to show, ne court, nor dalliance. --Spenser.

I went to make my court to the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle. --Evelyn.

6. (Law) (a) The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered. (b) The persons officially assembled under authority of law, at the appropriate time and place, for the administration of justice; an official assembly, legally met together for the transaction of judicial business; a judge or judges sitting for the hearing or trial of causes. (c) A tribunal established for the administration of justice. (d) The judge or judges; as distinguished from the counsel or jury, or both.

Most heartily I do beseech the court To give the judgment. --Shak.

7. The session of a judicial assembly.

8. Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.

9. A place arranged for playing the game of tennis; also, one of the divisions of a tennis court.

Christian court, the English ecclesiastical courts in the aggregate, or any one of them.

Court breeding, education acquired at court.

Court card. Same as Coat card.

Court circular, one or more paragraphs of news respecting the sovereign and the royal family, together with the proceedings or movements of the court generally, supplied to the newspapers by an officer specially charged with such duty. [Eng.] --Edwards.

Court day, a day on which a court sits to administer justice.

Court dress, the dress prescribed for appearance at the court of a sovereign.

Court fool, a buffoon or jester, formerly kept by princes and nobles for their amusement.

Court guide, a directory of the names and adresses of the nobility and gentry in a town.

Court hand, the hand or manner of writing used in records and judicial proceedings. --Shak.

Court lands (Eng. Law), lands kept in demesne, -- that is, for the use of the lord and his family.

Court marshal, one who acts as marshal for a court.

Court party, a party attached to the court.

Court rolls, the records of a court. SeeRoll.

Court in banc, or Court in bank, The full court sitting at its regular terms for the hearing of arguments upon questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at nisi prius.

Court of Arches, audience, etc. See under Arches, Audience, etc.

Court of Chancery. See Chancery, n.

Court of Common pleas. (Law) See Common pleas, under Common.

Court of Equity. See under Equity, and Chancery.

Court of Inquiry (Mil.), a court appointed to inquire into and report on some military matter, as the conduct of an officer.

Court of St. James, the usual designation of the British Court; -- so called from the old palace of St. James, which is used for the royal receptions, levees, and drawing-rooms.

The court of the Lord, the temple at Jerusalem; hence, a church, or Christian house of worship.

General Court, the legislature of a State; -- so called from having had, in the colonial days, judicial power; as, the General Court of Massachusetts. [U.S.]

To pay one's court, to seek to gain favor by attentions. "Alcibiades was assiduous in paying his court to Tissaphernes." --Jowett.

To put out of court, to refuse further judicial hearing.

Court

Court\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Courted; p. pr. & vb. n. Courting.]

1. To endeavor to gain the favor of by attention or flattery; to try to ingratiate one's self with.

By one person, hovever, Portland was still assiduously courted. --Macaulay.

2. To endeavor to gain the affections of; to seek in marriage; to woo.

If either of you both love Katharina . . . leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure. --Shak.

3. To attempt to gain; to solicit; to seek.

They might almost seem to have courted the crown of martyrdem. --Prescott.

Guilt and misery . . . court privacy and silitude. --De Quincey.

4. To invite by attractions; to allure; to attract.

A well-worn pathway courted us To one green wicket in a privet hedge. --Tennyson.

Court

Court\, v. i. 1. To play the lover; to woo; as, to go courting.

Court

Court\, n.

Court of claims (Law), a court for settling claims against a state or government; specif., a court of the United States, created by act of Congress, and holding its sessions at Washington. It is given jurisdiction over claims on contracts against the government, and sometimes may advise the government as to its liabilities. Couveuse \Cou`veuse"\, n. [F.] (Med.) An incubator for sickly infants, esp. those prematurely born.

Court

the enclosure of the tabernacle (Ex. 27:9-19; 40:8), of the temple (1 Kings 6:36), of a prison (Neh. 3:25), of a private house (2 Sam. 17:18), and of a king's palace (2 Kings 20:4).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

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