What does "courtship" mean?

Courtship: The act of wooing in love; solicitation of woman to marriage. This method of courtship, [by which] both sides are prepared for all the matrimonial adventures that are to follow. Goldsmith.

Additional senses

  1. 2.Courtliness; elegance of manners; courtesy. [Obs.] Trim gallants, full of courtship and of state. Shak.
  2. 3.Court policy; the character of a courtier; artifice of a court; court-craft; finesse. [Obs.] She [the Queen] being composed of courtship and Popery. Fuller.

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