courteous

  • 1Courteous — Cour te*ous (k?r t? ?s; 277), a. [OE. cortais, corteis, cortois, rarely corteous, OF. corties, corteis, F. courtois. See {Court}.] Of courtlike manners; pertaining to, or expressive of, courtesy; characterized by courtesy; civil; obliging; well… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2courteous — mid 14c., earlier curteis (c.1300), from O.Fr. curteis (Mod.Fr. courtois) having courtly bearing or manners, from curt court + eis, from L. ensis. Rare before c.1500. In feudal society, also denoting a man of good education (hence the name… …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 3courteous — index civil (polite), obeisant Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 4courteous — polite, *civil, courtly, gallant, chivalrous Analogous words: *gracious, affable, cordial: *suave, urbane, politic, diplomatic: considerate, *thoughtful, attentive: obliging, complaisant (see AMIABLE) Antonyms: discourteous Contrasted words: * …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 5courteous — courteous, courtesy are pronounced with initial kert …

    Modern English usage

  • 6courteous — [adj] gentle, mannerly affable, attentive, ceremonious, civil, civilized, complaisant, considerate, courtly, cultivated, debonair, elegant, gallant, genteel, gracious, polished, polite, refined, respectful, soft spoken, suave, thoughtful, urbane …

    New thesaurus

  • 7courteous — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ polite, respectful, and considerate. DERIVATIVES courteously adverb courteousness noun. ORIGIN Old French corteis having manners fit for a royal court …

    English terms dictionary

  • 8courteous — [kʉrt′ē əs] adj. [ME courteis < OFr corteis < court: see COURT & EOUS] polite and gracious; considerate toward others; well mannered SYN. CIVIL courteously adv. courteousness n …

    English World dictionary

  • 9courteous — adj. 1) courteous to, towards (she is courteous to everyone) 2) courteous to + inf. (it was courteous of him to do that) * * * [ kɜːtɪəs] towards (she is courteous to everyone) courteous to courteous to + inf. (it was courteous of him to do that) …

    Combinatory dictionary

  • 10courteous — [[t]kɜ͟ː(r)tiəs[/t]] ADJ GRADED Someone who is courteous is polite and respectful to other people. He was a kind and courteous man... My friend s reply was courteous but firm. Syn: polite Ant: rude Derived words: courteously ADV GRADED …

    English dictionary

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