Meanings
plural courtnolls · alternative courtnal · alternative courtnold · alternative courtnole · alternative courtnowle
- obsoletecontemptuousA courtier.
Now euery lowt muſt haue his ſonne a Courtnoll,and thoſe dunghill dꝛudges ware ſo pꝛoud,that they wil pꝛeſume to wear on their feet,what kings haue woꝛne on their heades.
1592, Robert Greene, A Quip for an Upstart Courtier, page 17, archived from the original on 18 Jan 20241 more example
"Heere," quoth the Miller, "good fellowe, Ile drinke to thee & to all the courtnolls that curteous bee." "I pledge thee," quoth our King, "& thanke thee heartilye for my good welcome in euerye degree ; & heere in like manner I drinke to thy sonne." "doe then," saies Richard, "& quicke let it come."
17ᵗʰ c., as printed in the Percy Manuscripts, King Henry II and the Miller of Mansfield, page 151, stanza 14, archived from the original on 10 Oct 2006
Origin
From court + noll (“head”), with second part also found in such contemptuous expressions as "drunken noll", compare -head.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
courtnoll. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/courtnoll
“courtnoll.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/courtnoll. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “courtnoll,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/courtnoll.
Source: courtnoll on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.