Court

Court, an enclosed place, used metaphorically in many senses, for example a court of law, a court of honour, the court of a sovereign. To be presented at Court is to be presented to the sovereign on some ceremonial occasion such as a levee or a drawing room. It is a privilege which has much value for some people, and, as it confers certain rights, it is not lightly granted, and may be cancelled, so far as the rights pertaining to it are concerned. It is probably from association with the idea of a royal Court and the manners and customs which characterise it, that has come the verb to court in the sense of paying particular attention and respect to a person generally with the object of obtaining some favour.