Courtesan
noun
A woman once paid to spend time with a rich man.
In the painted world of Venice, Veronese’s courtesans appear in satins and velvets.
Often appears as...
- become a courtesan
- famed courtesan
Usage tips
Historical
noun
A woman who escorts, entertains, and sometimes has sex with rich clients, typically older men.
The rich old man was accompanied to the event by a young and beautiful courtesan.
Often appears as...
- beautiful courtesan
- young courtesan
Usage tips
Modern
noun
A woman once paid to spend time with a rich man.
In the painted world of Venice, Veronese’s courtesans appear in satins and velvets.
Often appears as...
- become a courtesan
- famed courtesan
Usage tips
Historical
noun
A woman who escorts, entertains, and sometimes has sex with rich clients, typically older men.
The rich old man was accompanied to the event by a young and beautiful courtesan.
Often appears as...
- beautiful courtesan
- young courtesan
Usage tips
Modern
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Usage
Used mainly in historical or literary contexts to depict women in past societies.
The novel set in the Renaissance features a courtesan as a key character.
Pro Tip 2/3Cultural Nuance
May convey glamour or intrigue within historical settings, unlike more stigmatized terms.
The film portrayed the courtesan as a glamorous figure moving through royal courts.
Pro Tip 3/3Social Status
Historically, indicated a social role that combined companionship, entertainment, and sometimes intimacy.
Courtesans were often well-educated and influential in the arts.
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Usage
Used mainly in historical or literary contexts to depict women in past societies.
The novel set in the Renaissance features a courtesan as a key character.
Pro Tip 2/3Cultural Nuance
May convey glamour or intrigue within historical settings, unlike more stigmatized terms.
The film portrayed the courtesan as a glamorous figure moving through royal courts.
Pro Tip 3/3Social Status
Historically, indicated a social role that combined companionship, entertainment, and sometimes intimacy.
Courtesans were often well-educated and influential in the arts.
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Usage
Used mainly in historical or literary contexts to depict women in past societies.
The novel set in the Renaissance features a courtesan as a key character.
Pro Tip 2/3Cultural Nuance
May convey glamour or intrigue within historical settings, unlike more stigmatized terms.
The film portrayed the courtesan as a glamorous figure moving through royal courts.
Pro Tip 3/3Social Status
Historically, indicated a social role that combined companionship, entertainment, and sometimes intimacy.
Courtesans were often well-educated and influential in the arts.
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Video examples
Japan Geishas PIPE National...
streets before disappearing behind closed doors are they high-priced courtesans mistresses of seduction or something more elusive whatever a Geisha is it's more than a role it's an all-encompassing way of life though it's
Video examples
Japan Geishas PIPE National...
streets before disappearing behind closed doors are they high-priced courtesans mistresses of seduction or something more elusive whatever a Geisha is it's more than a role it's an all-encompassing way of life though it's
Example 1 of 1
Quote examples
Julian Barnes
English Writer
It took me some years to clear my head of what Paris wanted me to admire about it, and to notice what I preferred instead. Not power-ridden monuments, but individual buildings which tell a quieter story: the artist's studio, or the Belle Epoque house built by a forgotten financier for a just-remembered courtesan.
Quote examples
Virginia Henley
British Writer
I have always been drawn to the Restoration period of Charles II. I have a soft spot for Charles Stuart, who was always loving and kind to the opposite sex. The members of his court were fascinating, and Barbara Castlemaine was one of the greatest courtesans in history.
Quote examples
Amy Waldman
American Author
History is the history of human behavior, and human behavior is the raw material of fiction. Most people recognize that novelists do research to get the facts right - how a glove factory works, for example, or how courtesans in imperial Japan dressed.
Quote examples
Pietro Aretino
Italian Poet
With a goose-quill and a few sheets of paper, I mock myself of the universe. They say I am the son of a courtesan; it may be so, but I have the heart of a King. I live free, I enjoy myself, I can call myself happy.
Quote examples
Amy Tan
American Novelist
In a second-class courtesan house, the courtship was much briefer. It could even be one night; usually it went on a little bit longer. But as the years went by, that period of courtship was shorter and shorter.
Quote examples
Alexander Chee
American Writer
The best relatively contemporary portrayal of a courtesan that I've ever seen was probably in 'Children of Paradise,' a film that was made during the Nazi occupation of France, made in secret actually.
Quote examples
Marie Helvin
American Model
I think I'm living in the wrong century. I would have made a great courtesan. Not a mistress - I could never be kept - but a courtesan with my own rules.
Quote examples
Amy Tan
American Novelist
I was shocked, and I ended up contacting three academics to find out if it could possibly be that my grandmother was a courtesan.
Quote examples
Twyla Tharp
American Dancer
Balzac loved courtesans. They were independent women, and in the 19th century, that was a breed that was just evolving.
Quote examples
Amy Tan
American Novelist
For many courtesans, it was over by age 22.
Quote examples
Julian Barnes
English Writer
It took me some years to clear my head of what Paris wanted me to admire about it, and to notice what I preferred instead. Not power-ridden monuments, but individual buildings which tell a quieter story: the artist's studio, or the Belle Epoque house built by a forgotten financier for a just-remembered courtesan.
Quote examples
Virginia Henley
British Writer
I have always been drawn to the Restoration period of Charles II. I have a soft spot for Charles Stuart, who was always loving and kind to the opposite sex. The members of his court were fascinating, and Barbara Castlemaine was one of the greatest courtesans in history.
Quote examples
Amy Waldman
American Author
History is the history of human behavior, and human behavior is the raw material of fiction. Most people recognize that novelists do research to get the facts right - how a glove factory works, for example, or how courtesans in imperial Japan dressed.
Quote examples
Pietro Aretino
Italian Poet
With a goose-quill and a few sheets of paper, I mock myself of the universe. They say I am the son of a courtesan; it may be so, but I have the heart of a King. I live free, I enjoy myself, I can call myself happy.
Quote examples
Amy Tan
American Novelist
In a second-class courtesan house, the courtship was much briefer. It could even be one night; usually it went on a little bit longer. But as the years went by, that period of courtship was shorter and shorter.
Quote examples
Alexander Chee
American Writer
The best relatively contemporary portrayal of a courtesan that I've ever seen was probably in 'Children of Paradise,' a film that was made during the Nazi occupation of France, made in secret actually.
Quote examples
Marie Helvin
American Model
I think I'm living in the wrong century. I would have made a great courtesan. Not a mistress - I could never be kept - but a courtesan with my own rules.
Quote examples
Amy Tan
American Novelist
I was shocked, and I ended up contacting three academics to find out if it could possibly be that my grandmother was a courtesan.
Quote examples
Twyla Tharp
American Dancer
Balzac loved courtesans. They were independent women, and in the 19th century, that was a breed that was just evolving.
Quote examples
Amy Tan
American Novelist
For many courtesans, it was over by age 22.
Example 1 of 10
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