A fee or commission paid to a broker or intermediary for arranging a transaction, especially in commerce or brokerage.
From Old French 'courtage,' derived from 'court' (to court/arrange) and the suffix '-age' (indicating a fee or system). The word evolved to mean the cost of commercial intermediation.
The word 'courtage' disappeared from English but survived in French and other languages—it's a ghostword that shows how English simplified its commercial vocabulary while Romance languages kept medieval business terminology alive.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.