courtesan
noun
cour·te·san
ˈkȯr-tə-zən 
-ˌzan,
also ˈkər-,
-ˌzän;
especially British ˌkȯ-tə-ˈzan
: a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele
Synonyms
Examples of courtesan in a Sentence
the protagonist of the novel is a composite of several real-life courtesans who plied their trade among the decadent aristocracy
Recent Examples on the Web
The real Jeanne du Barry was the illegitimate daughter of a common seamstress who used her intelligence and sexuality to rise within the ranks of high society, eventually becoming the favored courtesan of King Loius XV.
—
Mike Miller, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2024
Mariko declines, and Blackthorne follows the courtesan alone, brushing his hand over Mariko’s on the way.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Elisa has recently been orphaned for a second time by the death of her guardian, Rosaria, a minor courtesan who took her in after her parents’ untimely deaths.
—Jess Bergman, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2023
The show by playwright Kate Hammill is a risqué comedic drama loosely based on the life and tell-all memoirs of the 19th century’s most famous courtesan, Harriette Wilson, also known as The Little Fellow.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2023
Its image of a Paris courtesan, with tungsten-white skin and a level gaze, stretched out on her bed and approached by a Black female attendant bearing flowers, punched many a hot button — social, aesthetic and ethical — in French bourgeois culture.
—Holland Cotter, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023
Hamill will co-star with her real-life husband, actor Jason O’Connell, in the risqué comedy drama based on the memoirs of real-life 19th-century British courtesan Harriette Wilson.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2023
Drawing inspiration from the time that former king Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson spent in Portugal and the real-life French courtesan with whom the Duke most likely had an affair, Wells unwinds a globe-trotting tale of romance and mystery wrapped in historical detail.
—Carol Memmott, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2023
This is the story of a lonely, widowed businessman, a courtesan, 1700s London, and a mermaid.
—Teresa M. Hanafin, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2023
Mike Miller, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2024
Mariko declines, and Blackthorne follows the courtesan alone, brushing his hand over Mariko’s on the way.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Elisa has recently been orphaned for a second time by the death of her guardian, Rosaria, a minor courtesan who took her in after her parents’ untimely deaths.
—Jess Bergman, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2023
The show by playwright Kate Hammill is a risqué comedic drama loosely based on the life and tell-all memoirs of the 19th century’s most famous courtesan, Harriette Wilson, also known as The Little Fellow.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2023
Its image of a Paris courtesan, with tungsten-white skin and a level gaze, stretched out on her bed and approached by a Black female attendant bearing flowers, punched many a hot button — social, aesthetic and ethical — in French bourgeois culture.
—Holland Cotter, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023
Hamill will co-star with her real-life husband, actor Jason O’Connell, in the risqué comedy drama based on the memoirs of real-life 19th-century British courtesan Harriette Wilson.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2023
Drawing inspiration from the time that former king Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson spent in Portugal and the real-life French courtesan with whom the Duke most likely had an affair, Wells unwinds a globe-trotting tale of romance and mystery wrapped in historical detail.
—Carol Memmott, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2023
This is the story of a lonely, widowed businessman, a courtesan, 1700s London, and a mermaid.
—Teresa M. Hanafin, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'courtesan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Courtesan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/courtesan. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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