courtesan

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In his 18th opera, Giuseppe Verdi provocatively made the lead role a courtesan in contemporary Paris.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

And when the Parisian crowds rolled into the Salon of 1865, they too went berserk in front of Édouard Manet’s painting of a courtesan, her maid and her high-strung black cat.

From New York Times • Sep. 9, 2023

In the late 2000s, the courtesan culture had completely vanished and Rekhabai left the kotha to live in her apartment in Kolkata.

From BBC • Jul. 17, 2023

The film, by French actor and director Maïwenn Le Besco, known as Maïwenn, chronicles the life of French courtesan Madame du Barry, who climbed the social ladder at Versailles to become the king's favourite.

From Reuters • May 17, 2023

Govinda once spent a rest period with some other monks in the pleasure grove which Kamala, the courtesan, had once presented to the followers of Gotama.

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse