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A courtier is someone who attends upon, and thus receives a privileged position from, a powerful person, usually a head of state. In the United States, the term has taken on negative connotations as a synonym for favorite or hanger-on. It is usually also used in a historical context, especially to describe the attendants of a luxurious autocrat such as Louis XIV of France. This context is used by many to make the word quaintly old-fashioned and irrelevant in contemporary circumstances, although the placemen and rewarded campaign-donors in the American political system are contemporary examples of de facto courtiers.
Examples of famous courtiers See also | ||||||||
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