Page "Courtesan" Paragraph 3

In Renaissance usage, the Italian word cortigiana, feminine of cortigiano (" courtier ") came to refer to " the ruler's mistress ", and then to a well-educated and independent woman of loose morals, eventually a trained artisan of dance and singing, especially one associated with wealthy, powerful, or upper-class men who provided luxuries and status in exchange for companionship.

The word was borrowed by English from Italian through the French form " courtisane " during the 16th century, especially associated to the meaning of court-mistress and prostitute.