317
courtier
what you think is right 3 take one's courage in both
hands to gather enough courage to do something that
needs a lot of bravery → see also DUTCH COURAGE
cou·ra·geous /kəˈreɪdʒəs/ adj brave; showing courage: a
courageous action/person | It was courageous of you to say
what you did. →-ly adv →-ness n [U]
cour·gette /kʊəˈʒet||kʊər-/ BrE || zucchini AmE — n a small
green MARROW (=long vegetable with a dark green skin)
eaten cooked as a vegetable or raw in SALADS
Cou·ric, Ka·tie /'kʊərɪk, 'kɜːti/ (1957–) a US television
JOURNALIST who is best known for being one of the HOSTS
of The Today Show, a morning news programme on NBC
cou·ri·er¹ /'kʊrɪər/ n 1 a person or company that is
employed to carry messages or other official papers, espe-
cially of an urgent or official kind: We sent the contract to
Tokyo by courier. 2 someone who goes with and looks after
travellers on a tour
courier² v [T(to)] to send with a COURIER
course¹ /kɔːs||kɔːrs/ n 1 the path along which something
moves; direction of movement taken by someone or some-
thing: the course of a river | The plane changed course to
avoid the storm. | The ship was blown off course. | (fig.) a
politician attempting to steer a middle course between con-
servatism and reform | (fig.) The company is on course to
achieve its profit targets. 2 [(of) usually sing.] continuous move-
ment from one point to another in space or time: The enemy
should be defeated in the course of (=during) the year. |
During the course of the next few minutes we will be serving
tea and biscuits. 3 the usual, natural, or established pattern
or process by which something happens or is done: He has
committed a crime and now the law must take its course. |
They decided to let the illness run its course. | He is charged
with attempting to pervert the course of justice. (=to prevent
the law from operating properly) 4 a plan of action: Their
police officers carry guns, and ours may soon have to adopt a
similar course. | Your best course of action is to try to forget
about her. 5 an area of land or water on which a race is held
or certain types of sport played: a golf course | a race course
→ see also ASSAULT COURSE 6 [(in)] a set of lessons or
studies: a course of lectures | a four-year history course | to
take/do a course in car maintenance → see also COURSE
BOOK, CRASH COURSE 7 [(of)] especially BrE actions, a set of
events of a planned and fixed number, especially for the
purpose of medical treatment: a course of drugs/anti-rabies
injections 8 any of the different parts of a meal: We had a
three-course dinner: chicken soup, roast beef, and ice-
cream. 9 a continuous level line of bricks, stone etc, all
along a wall → see also DAMP COURSE 10 in due course
without too much delay; at the right time 11 in the course
of time when enough time has passed 12 in the ordinary/
normal course of events/things usually; in the way things
ordinarily happen: In the ordinary course of events they'd be
here by now; the plane must be late. 13 of course also course
inflml a) certainly; NATURALLY: Of course I'll give you your
money back. | 'Were you glad to leave?' 'Of course not!' b)
(often followed by but and used as a way of introducing a
point of doubt or disagreement) I agree (that): Of course you
must make a profit, but not if it involves exploiting people. | Of
course these figures may not be completely accurate, but I think
we should take them very seriously. → see also matter of
course (MATTER), stay the course (STAY)
Of course (=certainly) is a polite way of agreeing
and showing willingness to help, in reply to requests such
as Can you help me? and May I borrow this book? But of
course is not polite in reply to a question asking for
information: 'Do many students study English at your
school?' 'Yes, they do/Yes, the majority.' The reply of
course here would suggest 'this fact is so obvious that
you ought to know it'.
course² v 1 [I+adv/prep] especially lit (of liquid) to flow rapidly:
Tears coursed down his cheeks. 2 [I;T] BrE to chase (a rabbit or
HARE) with dogs as a sport: to go coursing
course book n BrE a book giving information, especially
information that develops slightly every lesson, that is used
regularly during a whole set of lessons, for example during a
whole TERM or year → compare TEXTBOOK
course·ware /'kɔːsweər||'kɔːr-/ n [U] computer software
that is designed to teach people a particular subject
course·work /'kɔːswɜːk||'kɔːrswɜːrk/ n [U] work that stu-
dents do during a course of study, rather than in examina-
tions, and that forms part of their final mark
court¹ /kɔːt||kɔːrt/ n 1 [C;U] a room or building in which
law cases can be heard and judged: Silence in court! | Her
case will be heard in the High Court. | The case was settled
out of court. (=without having to be heard by a judge) | an
out-of-court settlement → see also COURT OF APPEAL, COURT-
ROOM, OATH 2 [the,U] the people, especially law officers and
members of the JURY who are gathered together in a court to
hear and judge a law case: The court stood when the judge
entered. | The defendant told the court that he had never seen
the woman before. → see also CONTEMPT 3 [C;U] (a part of)
an area specially prepared and marked for various ball
games, such as tennis: a squash/badminton court | Are the
players on court yet? 4 [C] (often cap. as part of a name) a) a short
street surrounded by buildings on three sides: They lived in
Westbury Court. b) especially BrE a block of flats c) also
courtyard — an open space wholly or partly surrounded by
buildings, especially next to or inside a castle, large house
etc 5 [C;U] the official home of a king or queen: the Court of
Versailles | He is well known at court/in court circles. | the
newspaper's court correspondent (=a reporter who deals with
news concerning the royal family) 6 [C+sing./pl. v] the king or
queen with his/her family and the officials, noblemen,
servants etc who attend him/her: the Moroccan court 7 pay
court to old-fash to COURT² 8 rule something/someone out
of court to prevent a person, matter, or subject from being
considered by a court of law 9 take someone to court to
start an action in law against someone → see also the ball is
in your court (BALL)
court² v 1 [T] to pay attention to (an important or influen-
tial person) in order to gain favour, advantage, approval etc:
He's courting the farmers because he needs their votes in the
election. 2 [T] to try to obtain (a desired state): The teacher
tried to court popularity by giving his students very little
work. 3 [T] to risk (something bad), often foolishly or
thoughtlessly: to court danger/arrest/disaster 4 [I;T] old-
fash a) (of a man) to visit and pay attention to (a woman he
hopes to marry): John courted Mary for years. b) (of a man
and woman) to be in a relationship that may lead to
marriage: a courting couple
Cour·tauld In·sti·tute, the /'kɔːtɔːld ˌɪnstɪˈtjut||'kɔːr-
tuːt/ an art GALLERY in London. It is mainly known for its
collection of late 19th and early 20th century paintings.
'court card BrE || face card AmE — n the king, queen, or
JACK in a set of playing cards
cour·te·ous /'kɜːtiəs||'kɜːr-/ adj polite and kind; showing
good manners and respect for others → opposite DISCOURTE-
OUS →-ly adv →-ness n [U]
cour·te·san /ˌkɔːtɪˈzæn||ˌkɔːrtɪˈzæn/ n (especially in former
times) a woman who takes payment for sex from noble and
socially important people; a high-class PROSTITUTE
cour·te·sy¹ /'kɜːtəsi||'kɜːr-/ n 1 [U] polite behaviour; good
manners: I really think you should tell her you've given the
job to someone else; it's a matter of common courtesy.
(=accepted politeness) → opposite DISCOURTESY 2 [C] a
polite or kind action or expression 3 (by) courtesy of by
the permission or generosity of (someone), usually without
payment: This picture appears in the exhibition by courtesy of
the National Art Collection.
courtesy² adj [A] 1 provided free to a customer by a com-
pany: courtesy bus/taxi/car/phone etc The hotel runs a
courtesy bus from the airport. | Most reviewers receive a
courtesy copy of the book. 2 courtesy visit/call a visit etc
done to be polite or show respect: Our captain put in a
courtesy visit during dinner.
'courtesy title n a title given (for example to certain
relatives of British PEERS) by polite custom and not held by
legal right
court·house /'kɔːthaʊs||'kɔːrt-/ n pl. -houses /ˌhaʊzɪz/
especially AmE a building containing courts of law
court·ier /'kɔːtɪər||'kɔːr-/ n (in former times) a noble who
attended at the court of a king or other ruler