Coursey noun [ Confer Old French corsie , coursie , passage way to the stern. See Course , noun ] (Nautical) A space in the galley; a part of the hatches. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Coursing noun The pursuit or running game with dogs that follow by sight instead of by scent.

In coursing of a deer, or hart, with greyhounds.
Bacon

Court (kōrt) noun [ Old French court , curt , cort , French cour , Late Latin cortis , from Latin cohors , cors , chors , gen. cohortis , cortis , chortis , an inclosure, court, thing inclosed, crowd, throng; co- + a root akin to Greek chorto`s inclosure, feeding place, and to E. garden , yard , orchard . See Yard , and confer Cohort , Curtain .]
1. An inclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different building; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.

The courts of the house of our God.
Ps. cxxxv. 2.

And round the cool green courts there ran a row
Of cloisters.
Tennyson.

Goldsmith took a garret in a miserable court .
Macaulay.

2. The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or other dignitary; a palace.

Attends the emperor in his royal court .
Shak.

This our court , infected with their manners,
Shows like a riotous inn.
Shak.

3. 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.

My lord, there is a nobleman of the court at door would speak with you.
Shak.

Love rules the court , the camp, the grove.
Sir. W. Scott.

4. Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign; as, to hold a court .

The princesses held their court within the fortress.
Macaulay.

5. Attention directed to a person in power; conduct or address designed to gain favor; courtliness of manners; civility; compliment; flattery.

No solace could her paramour intreat
Her once to show, ne court , nor dalliance.
Spenser.

I went to make my court to the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle.
Evelyn.

6. (Law) (a) The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered. (b) The persons officially assembled under authority of 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 causes. (c) A tribunal established for the administration of justice. (d) The judge or judges; as distinguished from the counsel or jury, or both.

Most heartily I do beseech the court
To give the judgment.
Shak.

7. The session of a judicial assembly.

8. Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.

9. A place arranged for playing the game of tennis; also, one of the divisions of a tennis court.

Christian court , the English ecclesiastical courts in the aggregate, or any one of them. -- Court breeding , education acquired at court. -- Court card . Same as Coat card . -- Court circular , one or more paragraphs of news respecting the sovereign and the royal family, together with the proceedings or movements of the court generally, supplied to the newspapers by an officer specially charged with such duty. [ Eng.] Edwards. -- Court day , a day on which a court sits to administer justice. -- Court dress , the dress prescribed for appearance at the court of a sovereign. -- Court fool , a buffoon or jester, formerly kept by princes and nobles for their amusement. -- Court guide , a directory of the names and adresses of the nobility and gentry in a town. -- Court hand , the hand or manner of writing used in records and judicial proceedings. Shak. -- Court lands (Eng. Law) , lands kept in demesne, -- that is, for the use of the lord and his family. -- Court marshal , one who acts as marshal for a court. -- Court party , a party attached to the court. -- Court rolls , the records of a court. See Roll . -- Court in banc , or Court in bank , The full court sitting at its regular terms for the hearing of arguments upon questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at nisi prius . - - Court of Arches , audience , etc. See under Arches , Audience , etc. -- Court of Chancery . See Chancery , noun -- Court of Common pleas . (Law) See Common pleas , under Common . -- Court of Equity . See under Equity , and Chancery . -- Court of Inquiry (Mil.) , a court appointed to inquire into and report on some military matter, as the conduct of an officer. -- Court of St. James , the usual designation of the British Court; -- so called from the old palace of St. James, which is used for the royal receptions, levees, and drawing-rooms. -- The court of the Lord , the temple at Jerusalem; hence, a church, or Christian house of worship. - - General Court , the legislature of a State; -- so called from having had, in the colonial days, judicial power; as, the General Court of Massachusetts. [ U.S.] -- To pay one's court , to seek to gain favor by attentions. "Alcibiades was assiduous in paying his court to Tissaphernes." Jowett. -- To put out of court , to refuse further judicial hearing.

Court transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Courted ; present participle & verbal noun Courting .]
1. To endeavor to gain the favor of by attention or flattery; to try to ingratiate one's self with.

By one person, hovever, Portland was still assiduously courted .
Macaulay.

2. To endeavor to gain the affections of; to seek in marriage; to woo.

If either of you both love Katharina . . .
Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure.
Shak.

3. To attempt to gain; to solicit; to seek.

They might almost seem to have courted the crown of martyrdom.
Prescott.

Guilt and misery . . . court privacy and solitude.
De Quincey.

4. To invite by attractions; to allure; to attract.

A well-worn pathway courted us
To one green wicket in a privet hedge.
Tennyson.

Court intransitive verb
1. To play the lover; to woo; as, to go courting .

Court noun -- Court of claims (Law) , a court for settling claims against a state or government; specif., a court of the United States, created by act of Congress, and holding its sessions at Washington. It is given jurisdiction over claims on contracts against the government, and sometimes may advise the government as to its liabilities.

Court tennis (k?rt" t?n"n?s). See under Tennis .

Court-baron noun (Law) An inferior court of civil jurisdiction, attached to a manor, and held by the steward; a baron's court; -- now fallen into disuse.

Court-craft noun The artifices, intrigues, and plottings, at courts.

Court-cupboard noun A movable sideboard or buffet, on which plate and other articles of luxury were displayed on special ocasions. [ Obsolete]

A way with the joint stools, remove the court- cupboard , look to the plate.
Shak.

Court-leet noun (Eng. Law) A court of record held once a year, in a particular hundred, lordship, or manor, before the steward of the leet. Blackstone.

Court-martial noun ; plural Courts-martial (k...rts`-). A court consisting of military or naval officers, for the trial of one belonging to the army or navy, or of offenses against military or naval law.

Court-martial transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Court-martialed (- sh a ld); present participle & verbal noun Court- martialing .] To subject to trial by a court- martial.

Court-plaster noun Sticking plaster made by coating taffeta or silk on one side with some adhesive substance, commonly a mixture of isinglass and glycerin.

Courtbred adjective Bred, or educated, at court; polished; courtly.

Courtelle noun a wool-like fabric.
[ WordNet 1.5]

Courteous adjective [ Middle English cortais , corteis , cortois , rarely corteous , Old French corties , corteis , French courtois . See Court .] Of courtlike manners; pertaining to, or expressive of, courtesy; characterized by courtesy; civil; obliging; well bred; polite; affable; complaisant.

A patient and courteous bearing.
Prescott.

His behavior toward his people is grave and courteous .
Fuller.

Courteously adverb In a courteous manner.

Courteousness noun The quality of being courteous; politeness; courtesy.

Courtepy noun [ Dutch kort short + pije a coarse cloth.] A short coat of coarse cloth. [ Obsolete]

Full threadbare was his overeste courtepy .
Chaucer.

Courter noun One who courts; one who plays the lover, or who solicits in marriage; one who flatters and cajoles. Sherwood.

Courtesan noun [ French courtisane , from courtisan courtier, Italian cortigiano ; or directly from Italian cortigiana , or Spanish cortesana . See Court .] A woman who prostitutes herself for hire; a prostitute; a harlot.

Lasciviously decked like a courtesan .
Sir H. Wotton.

Courtesanship noun Harlotry.

Courtesy noun ; plural Courtesies (-s...z). [ Middle English cortaisie , corteisie , courtesie , Old French curteisie , cortoisie , Old French curteisie , cortoisie , French courtoisie , from curteis , corteis . See Courteous .]
1. Politeness; civility; urbanity; courtliness.

And trust thy honest-offered courtesy ,
With oft is sooner found in lowly sheds,
With smoky rafters, than in tapestry walls
And courts of princes, where it first was named,
And yet is most pretended.
Milton.

Pardon me, Messer Claudio, if once more
I use the ancient courtesies of speech.
Longfellow.

2. An act of civility or respect; an act of kindness or favor performed with politeness.

My lord, for your many courtesies I thank you.
Shak.

3. Favor or indulgence, as distinguished from right; as, a title given one by courtesy .

Courtesy title , a title assumed by a person, or popularly conceded to him, to which he has no valid claim; as, the courtesy title of Lord prefixed to the names of the younger sons of noblemen.

Syn. -- Politeness; urbanity; civility; complaisance; affability; courteousness; elegance; refinement; courtliness; good breeding. See Politeness .

Courtesy (kûrt"sȳ) noun [ See the preceding word.] An act of civility, respect, or reverence, made by women, consisting of a slight depression or dropping of the body, with bending of the knees. [ Written also curtsy .]

The lady drops a courtesy in token of obedience, and the ceremony proceeds as usual.
Golgsmith.

Courtesy intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Courtesied (-sĭd); present participle & verbal noun Courtesying .] To make a respectful salutation or movement of respect; esp. (with reference to women), to bow the body slightly, with bending of the knes.

Courtesy transitive verb To treat with civility. [ Obsolete]

Courthouse (kīrt"hous`) noun
1. A house in which established courts are held, or a house appropriated to courts and public meetings. [ U.S.]

2. A county town; -- so called in Virginia and some others of the Southern States.

Providence, the county town of Fairfax, is unknown by that name, and passes as Fairfax Court House .
Barlett.

Courtier (kōrt"yẽr) noun [ From Court .]
1. One who is in attendance at the court of a prince; one who has an appointment at court.

You know I am no courtier , nor versed in state affairs.
Bacon.

This courtier got a frigate, and that a company.
Macaulay.

2. One who courts or solicits favor; one who flatters.

There was not among all our princes a greater courtier of the people than Richard III.
Suckling.

Courtiery noun The manners of a courtier; courtliness. [ Obsolete] B. Jonson.

Courtlike adjective After the manner of a court; elegant; polite; courtly.

Courtliness noun [ From Courtly .] The quality of being courtly; elegance or dignity of manners.

Courtling noun [ Court + -ling .] A sycophantic courtier. B. Jonson.

Courtly adjective [ From Court .]
1. Relating or belonging to a court.

2. Elegant; polite; courtlike; flattering.

In courtly company or at my beads.
Shak.

3. Disposed to favor the great; favoring the policy or party of the court; obsequious. Macaulay.

Courtly adverb In the manner of courts; politely; gracefully; elegantly.

They can produce nothing so courtly writ.
Dryden

Courtship noun
1. The act of paying court, with the intent to solicit a favor. Swift.

2. The act of wooing in love; solicitation of woman to marriage.

This method of courtship , [ by which] both sides are prepared for all the matrimonial adventures that are to follow.
Goldsmith.

3. Courtliness; elegance of manners; courtesy. [ Obsolete]

Trim gallants, full of courtship and of state.
Shak.

4. Court policy; the character of a courtier; artifice of a court; court-craft; finesse. [ Obsolete]

She [ the Queen] being composed of courtship and Popery.
Fuller.

Courtyard noun A court or inclosure attached to a house.

Couscous noun A kind of food used by the natives of Western Africa, made of millet flour with flesh, and leaves of the baobab; -- called also lalo .

Couscousou noun A favorite dish in Barbary. See Couscous .

Cousin (kŭz"'n) noun [ French cousin , Late Latin cosinus , cusinus , contr. from Latin consobrinus the child of a mother's sister, cousin; con- + sobrinus a cousin by the mother's side, a form derived from soror (for sosor ) sister. See Sister , and confer Cozen , Coz .]
1. One collaterally related more remotely than a brother or sister; especially, the son or daughter of an uncle or aunt.

» The children of brothers and sisters are usually denominated first cousins , or cousins-german . In the second generation, they are called second cousins . See Cater-cousin , and Quater-cousin .

Thou art, great lord, my father's sister's son,
A cousin-german to great Priam's seed.
Shak.

2. A title formerly given by a king to a nobleman, particularly to those of the council. In English writs, etc., issued by the crown, it signifies any earl.

My noble lords and cousins , all, good morrow.
Shak.

Cousin noun Allied; akin. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Cousin-german noun [ Cousin + german closely akin.] A first cousin. See Note under Cousin , 1.

Cousinage noun [ French cousinage , Old French , also, cosinage . Confer Cosinage , Cozenage .] Relationship; kinship. [ Obsolete] Wyclif.

Cousinhood noun The state or condition of a cousin; also, the collective body of cousins; kinsfolk.

Cousinly adjective Like or becoming a cousin.

Cousinry noun A body or collection of cousins; the whole number of persons who stand in the relation of cousins to a given person or persons.

Cousinship noun The relationship of cousins; state of being cousins; cousinhood. G. Eliot.

Coussinet noun [ French, dim. of coussin cushion . See Cushionet .] (Architecture) (a) A stone placed on the impost of a pier for receiving the first stone of an arch. (b) That part of the Ionic capital between the abacus and quarter round, which forms the volute. Gwilt.

Couteau noun [ French] A knife; a dagger.

Couth imperfect & past participle of Can . [ See Can , and confer Uncouth .] Could; was able; knew or known; understood. [ Obsolete]

Above all other one Daniel
He loveth, for he couth well
Divine, that none other couth ;
To him were all things couth ,
As he had it of God's grace.
Gower.