cortege

noun

cor·​tege kȯr-ˈtezh How to pronounce cortege (audio)
ˈkȯr-ˌtezh
variants or less commonly cortège
1
: a train of attendants : retinue
2
: procession
especially : a funeral procession

Examples of cortege in a Sentence

the movie star's cortege included her hair stylist, makeup artist, personal assistant, and press agent the funeral cortege of mourners stretched for three city blocks
Recent Examples on the Web On Tuesday, several hearses and funeral corteges were seen at key locations in St. Petersburg, as local media scrambled to find the location of Prigozhin’s funeral. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2023 Israeli police are still investigating the circumstances of the deaths, which came after Hamas’s massacre of over 1,400 people a few days earlier, and the Israeli military had instructed the mayor to change the route of the cortege from the hospital to avoid inflaming the situation further. Jared Malsin, WSJ, 2 Nov. 2023 Another funeral cortege with three hearses drew up at Beloostrovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, after it was seen at the manège of the First Cadet Corps, where security guards shooed away journalists and members of the public. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2023 After a private funeral, the cortege passed slowly through the seaside town where O'Connor had lived. Harold Maass, The Week, 9 Aug. 2023 The monarch’s first funerary rites took place in the historic Scottish capital, and thousands lined the rainy route of her cortege to pay respects. Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2023 The sight of the cortege accompanied by massed pipes and drums making its slow march through hedged lanes marked a sharp contrast to the earlier procession through the streets of London past some of the capital's most famous landmarks. Joanna Sugden, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022 At the time of Mr. Croft’s funeral in 1930, dozens of pearlies from across London joined the cortege to honor him, decked out in their buttoned glory. Megan Specia, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2023 As Anna stood over her husband’s grave, another cortege arrived at the cemetery. Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cortege.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French cortège, from Italian corteggio, from corteggiare to court, from corte court, from Latin cohort-, cohors enclosure — more at court

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cortege was in 1648

Dictionary Entries Near cortege

Cite this Entry

“Cortege.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cortege. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cortege

noun
cor·​tege
variants also cortège
kȯr-ˈtezh How to pronounce cortege (audio)
ˈkȯr-ˌtezh
1
: a group of attendants : retinue
2
: procession sense 2
especially : a funeral procession

More from Merriam-Webster on cortege

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