court的基本意思是“庭院,院子”,指用栅栏等东西围起来的地方,也可指三面有建筑物的“小街道”,此时通常用大写作为名字的一部分。引申可指“法庭,法院”,指国家所设立的审理诉讼案件的机构。如其前加定冠词the,则指一次开庭的“全体出庭人员”。作“宫廷,朝廷”解时,首字母通常大写,泛指“宫廷”; 与the连用可表示国王(或女王)及王室、贵族、官员随从等的统称。还可作“球场”解。

The court is very dirty.这个院子非常脏。
The matter is still pending in court.这案子还在法院中悬而未决。
The defendant told the court that he had never seen the woman before.被告对法庭说他从未见过这位妇女。
He was said to have served at court for years.据说他曾在宫廷中任职多年。
He had been received at all the courts of Europe.他曾获欧洲各君主的召见。
Are the players on court yet?球员都上场了吗?

［词源］＜古法语cort(围,围起来的地方)