court

Etymology

From Middle English court, from Old French cort, curt, from Latin cōrtem (accusative of cōrs), ultimately from cohors. Doublet of cohort. . The room is also a court (def. 4.1).]]

noun

1. An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.
   1. (Australia, US) A street with no outlet, a cul-de-sac.
   2. (Hong Kong, only used in names) A housing estate under the House Ownership Scheme.
   3. (Hong Kong, only used in names) An apartment building, or a small development of several apartment buildings.
2. (social) Royal society.
   1. The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or other dignitary; a palace.
      The noblemen visited the queen in her court.
   2. 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.
      The queen and her court traveled to the city to welcome back the soldiers.
   3. Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign.
3. Attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favor; politeness of manner; civility towards someone
4. (law">law) The administration of law">law.
   1. The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered.
      Many famous criminals have been put on trial in this court.
   2. The persons officially assembled under authority of law">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 cases.
      The court started proceedings at 11 o'clock.
      Next month, Clemons will be brought before a court presided over by a "special master", who will review the case one last time. The hearing will be unprecedented in its remit, but at its core will be a simple issue: should Reggie Clemons live or die? 21 August 2012, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian
      536(2.1). ... You have the option to elect to be tried by a provincial court judge without a jury; or you may elect to be tried by a judge without a jury; or you may elect to be tried by a court composed of a judge and jury. 1985, “Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)”, in Justice Canada, retrieved 2020-03-01
   3. An organization for the administration of law">law, consisting of a body of judges with a certain jurisdiction along with its administrative apparatus.
      Each province in Canada has three courts: a provincial court, a superior court, and a court of appeals.
   4. (often capitalized) The judge or judges or other judicial officer presiding in a particular matter, particularly as distinguished from the counsel or jury, or both.
      A case conference in person was convened.... To emphasize that it was a Court proceeding the Court was gowned. 5 May 2017, Kevin R. Aalto, “Gordon v. Canada, 2017 FC 454”, in CanLII, retrieved 2020-02-23
      [5]... defence alleges there is a reasonable apprehension of bias based on the cumulative effect of several issues including the following: (1) The Court was “crying” during the victim impact statement; (2) The Court laughed or “scoffed” when defence stated its sentencing position; ...(6) The Court’s tone, facial expression and demeanor throughout the proceedings... 17 August 2018, M.F. McParland, “R. v. Carlson, 2018 BCPC 209”, in CanLII, retrieved 2020-03-01
   5. The session of a judicial assembly.
      The court is now in session.
   6. Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.
5. (sports) A place arranged for playing the games of tennis, basketball, handball, badminton, volleyball, squash and some other games
   The local sports club has six tennis courts and two squash courts.
   The shuttlecock landed outside the court.
   By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country. 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court
   1. one of the two divisions of a tennis, badminton or volleyball court, in which the player or players of each team play
      The photograph at left captures a great serve by Dr. Sadowsky, who will never forget one of Bobby Riggs's serves, which had such a great spin that it landed in his court and bounced back to the other side of the net before he had a chance to return it. 2010, Cara Marcus, Faulkner Hospital

verb

1. (transitive) To seek to achieve or win.
   He was courting big new accounts that previous salesman had not attempted.
   On the contrary, they employed the brief respite that was left them in fortifying one another's courage, and in bearing testimony to the truth in so earnest a manner that they might almost seem to have courted the crown of martyrdom. 1800, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of The Reign of Philip The Second, King of Spain, volume 3
   Guilt and misery shrink, by a natural instinct, from public notice: they court privacy and solitude: and even in their choice of a grave will sometimes sequester themselves from the general population of the churchyard […] 1821, Thomas De Quincey, “To the Reader”, in Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
2. (transitive) To risk (a consequence, usually negative).
   He courted controversy with his frank speeches.
   It is not unknown for hot axleboxes to fail completely and for wagons to become derailed as a result. Surely it is courting disaster to allow a train to proceed for up to seven miles with a defective vehicle before it can be brought to a halt? 1964 April, “Automatic Signalling Problems in an Emergency”, in Modern Railways, page 273
3. (transitive) To try to win a commitment to marry from.
   If either of you both love Katharina […] / Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure. c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, act 1, scene 1
4. (transitive) To engage in behavior leading to mating.
   The bird was courting by making an elaborate dance.
5. (transitive) To attempt to attract.
   By one person, however, Portland was still assiduously courted, and that person was the king. 1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 24, in The History of England: From the Accession of James II, volume 5
6. (transitive) To invite by attractions; to allure; to attract.
   […] a well-worn pathway courted us / To one green wicket in a privet hedge […] a. 1835, Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Gardener's Daughter
   It is a grim, grey old town, standing on bleak, precipitous cliffs that court every passing hurricane, […] 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major
7. (transitive) To attempt to gain alliance with.
8. (intransitive) To engage in activities intended to win someone's affections.
   She's had a few beaus come courting.
9. (intransitive) To engage in courtship behavior.
   In this season, you can see many animals courting.