Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Suitable for a royal court; stately.
  • adjective Elegant; refined.
  • adjective Flattering in an insincere way; obsequious.
  • adverb In a courtly manner; elegantly or politely.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining or relating to a court or to courts.
  • Elegant; polite; refined; courteous: as, “courtly accents fine,”
  • Disposed to court the great; somewhat obsequious; flattering.
  • In the manner of courts; elegantly; in a gracious or flattering manner.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb In the manner of courts; politely; gracefully; elegantly.
  • adjective Relating or belonging to a court.
  • adjective Elegant; polite; courtlike; flattering.
  • adjective Disposed to favor the great; favoring the policy or party of the court; obsequious.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Suitable for a royal court; refined, dignified.
  • adjective Obsequious, flattering.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From court + -ly.

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