Refined, elegant, and dignified in manner or appearance; befitting or characteristic of a royal court or high society.
From 'court' + '-ly' (adjective forming suffix meaning 'like' or 'befitting'). Originally meant 'of the court,' the term evolved to mean displaying the polished manners and elegance associated with courtly life.
'Courtly love' was a medieval literary concept where knights supposedly loved noble ladies from afar with pure, spiritual devotion—it's basically the opposite of actual medieval court behavior, which was ruthlessly transactional and often brutally pragmatic.
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