Definition of court card in US English:
court card
nounˈkɔrt ˌkɑrdˈkôrt ˌkärd
British A playing card that is a king, queen, or jack of a suit; a face card.
Example sentencesExamples
- Each suit has numbered cards 1-10, and 4 court cards: Page, Knight, Queen and King
- The pack of tarot cards consists of 78, usually highly illustrated cards. 22 major arcana cards are accompanied by 40 numbered cards in suits and 16 court cards.
- The values of the cards are usually much the same: 5, 4, 3, 2 for the court cards in the suits; 5 for the 1 and 21 of trumps and the fool; and 1 for each other card.
- The court cards can only capture court cards of the same rank (for example: kings can only capture kings - they cannot capture a set of cards which add up to 13).
- The Mameluke court cards showed abstract designs not depicting persons.
- A pip-count of 42 can be achieved only in a line having two Aces and two court cards, or in a line with three Aces and a 9.
Origin
Mid 17th century: alteration of 16th-century coat card, so named because of the decorative dress of the figures depicted.