When did we stop calling it courtship?

Question

more specific?? like a year or decade?

Answer 1

Formal courtship has been fading from Western culture for over 100 years. Formal courtship was a precursor to formal engagement and marriage.

In generations past a young man would, in an informal way set his sights on a young woman, perhaps talking with her at church or in school. He would go to her father or other adult male relative and ask HIM for permission to court the young lady.

A good example of this formal tradition is seen in the "Godfather" movie where Michael Corleone goes to Appolonia's father for permission to court her. Their first "date" is a well chaperoned affair - We see Michael and Appolonia walking hand in hand down a Sicilian road followed at a short distance by her entire family!

In the USA this tradition wasn't quite as controlled as in the Godfather example, but after the young man obtained the permission from the girl's father, the young man and the object of his affections will go to church together, visit at each others homes and visit other family members. They would eventually go out together alone, but usually to the theater or concerts. After a period of time the young couple would become engaged and marriage would take place in about a year.

There are to this day some very fundamentalist Jewish and Christian communities that still practice formal courtship in the manner described above.

There is something to be said about formal courtship and active family involvement in the pairing of young adults prior to marriage. It is not something to be totally scoffed at as a relic of times gone by.

Answer 2

That term got caught in the cultural deflation from bf, courtship, dating, engagement, marriage to bf, live-in, "engagement"

Answer 3

I think when political correctness came on the scene.