courtly speech
Noble verbal etiquette
Courtly speech is formal, elegant language associated with royal courts and aristocratic society.
It involves elaborate politeness, indirect phrasing, and ceremonial address: He approached the queen with courtly speech befitting the occasion.
The term often carries connotations of refinement that may seem old-fashioned or excessively mannered in modern contexts.
- formalityStrict observance of convention
- troubadourMedieval Provençal lyric poet
- chivalryKnightly code of honor
- fair ladyCourtly address to women
- diplomacyNegotiation between nations
sonnet · masque · allegory · eloquence · etiquette · epistolary · allusion · rhetoric · diction · persuasion · prosody · decorum · flattery · honorifics · ballad · good morrow · heraldry · metaphor
courtly speechcolloquial speech
Informal everyday language
slang · vernacular · street talk · chitchat · locker room talk
courtly speechvulgar language
Coarse or obscene speech
coarse language · gutter talk · profanity · obscenity · foul language
courtly speechstraight talk
Honest, direct communication
plain speech · plain talk · blunt talk · direct speech · terseness
court, courtly, courts, courted, courting, courtier, courtiers, courtesy, courtesies