Coʹterieʹ (3 syl.)

A French word, originally tantamount to our “guild,” a society where each paid his quota—i.e. his quote-part or gild (share). The French word has departed from its original meaning, and is now applied to an exclusive set, more especially of ladies.

“All coteries … it seems to me, have a tendency to change truth into affectation.”—E. C. Gaskell: Charlotte Brontë (vol. ii. chap. xi. p 47).