Meanings
nouncourtly love (uncountable)
- uncountableA mediaeval European conception of noble and chivalrous love, generally secret and between members of the nobility.
The impression that courtly love is out of date, long superseded by modern manners, is a lure blinding us to how the logic of courtly love still defines the parameters within which the two sexes relate to each other.
2005, Slavoj Žižek, The Metastases of Enjoyment: Six Essays on Women and Causality, Verso, →ISBN, page 89
Translations
Catalan amor cortès
- amor cortèsTranslations
Dutch hoofse liefde
- hoofse liefdeTranslations
Finnish hovirakkaus
- hovirakkausTranslations
French amour courtois
- amour courtoisTranslations
German Minne
- MinneTranslations
Italian amor cortese
- amor corteseTranslations
Polish miłość dworska
- miłość dworskaTranslations
Portuguese amor cortês
- amor cortêsTranslations
Russian куртуа́зная любо́вь
- куртуа́зная любо́вь (kurtuáznaja ljubóvʹ)Translations
Spanish amor cortés
- amor cortésTranslations
Cite this entry
APA
courtly love. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/courtly%20love
MLA
“courtly love.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/courtly%20love. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “courtly love,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/courtly%20love.
Source: courtly love on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.