Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Refined, dignified, and elegant in manner or appearance: Having the polished, formal, and respectful behavior considered characteristic of a royal court or aristocracy.
   • Excessively or obsequiously polite: Demonstrating an elaborate, ceremonious, or flattering politeness that may seem insincere.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • The ambassador greeted the queen with a courtly bow. (The ambassador's bow was refined and befitting a royal ceremony.)
  • His courtly manners, while impressive, sometimes felt a bit old-fashioned. (His elegant manners seemed characteristic of a past aristocratic era.)
  • She dismissed his courtly compliments as mere flattery. (She considered his overly polite and elaborate compliments to be insincere.)

Advanced Usage

• "courtly love": A medieval European literary concept and code of behavior expressing a knight's idealized, often non-physical, and respectful admiration for a noble lady.
  • The poet wrote many sonnets in the tradition of courtly love.
• Used to describe art, music, or literature that embodies the elegance and formal style of a royal court.
  • The minuet is a courtly dance from the 17th century.

Variants and Related Words

• Courtliness (noun): The quality of being courtly.
  • The courtliness of his demeanor was noted by all.
• Courtier (noun): A person who attends or serves at a royal court.
  • The courtier was skilled in the art of courtly conversation.

Synonyms

• Refined: Elegant and cultured in appearance, manner, or taste.
• Dignified: Having or showing a composed or serious manner worthy of respect.
• Ceremonious: Relating or appropriate to grand and formal occasions.
• Debonair: (Of a man) confident, stylish, and charming.
• Obsequious: Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree. (This synonym relates to the potentially negative, insincere connotation.)

Antonyms

• Boorish: Rough and bad-mannered.
• Uncouth: Lacking good manners, refinement, or grace.
• Informal: Having a relaxed, friendly, or unofficial style or manner.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• To pay courtly attention: To show someone a very formal, respectful, and elaborate kind of attention.
  • The young knight paid courtly attention to the duchess.
• While not a phrasal verb, the adjectival form is frequently used in the fixed historical and literary phrase "courtly love" as noted above.

Adjective

1. refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court
   • a courtly gentleman