courtesan

noun

cour·​te·​san ˈkȯr-tə-zən 

-ˌzan,

 also  ˈkər-,

-ˌzän;

 especially British  ˌkȯ-tə-ˈzan

plural courtesans

: a female sex worker with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele

Synonyms

• bawd
• call girl
• cocotte
• drab
• hooker
• hustler
• prostitute
• sex worker
• streetwalker
• tart
• whore

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

Her character in the show, set in feudal Japan, is the highest-ranking courtesan in Izu, who is skilled in ways known only to the select few men who can afford her. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 29 May 2025

Think of the many historical instances of artificially easy companionship for powerful men, all the geisha and the courtesans. —Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025

Lakan later earns enough money to buy out the contract of even the most expensive courtesan at the Verdigris House. —Kayti Burt, Time, 2 Apr. 2025

Morena Baccarin plays Inara Serra, a licensed Companion (a high-status courtesan) who rents one of Serenity’s shuttles as her private quarters and place of business. —Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 19 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French courtisane, from northern Italian dialect form of Italian cortigiana woman courtier, feminine of cortigiano courtier, from corte court, from Latin cohort-, cohors — see court entry 1

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined above