Definitions for courtesy
ˈkɜr tə si or, for 5 , ˈkɜrt sicour·tesy

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.3 / 4 votes

1. courtesynoun

   a courteous or respectful or considerate act

2. courtesynoun

   a courteous or respectful or considerate remark

3. courtesy, good mannersnoun

   a courteous manner

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.3 / 3 votes

1. courtesynoun

   Polite behavior.

   Please extend them the courtesy of your presence.

2. courtesynoun

   A polite gesture or remark.

   I offered them a ride simply as a courtesy.

3. courtesynoun

   Consent or agreement in spite of fact; indulgence.

   They call this pond a lake by courtesy only.

4. courtesynoun

   Willingness or generosity in providing something needed.

   They received free advertising through the courtesy of the local newspaper.

5. courtesyadjective

   Given or done as a polite gesture.

   We paid a courtesy visit to the new neighbors.

6. courtesyadjective

   Free of charge.

   The event planners offered courtesy tickets for the reporters.

7. Etymology: From curtesie, from curtesie, from curteis, from cortois, from cortensis. \

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Courtesynoun

   Etymology: courtoisie, Fr. cortesia, Italian.

   1. Elegance of manners; civility; complaisance.

   Sir, you are very welcome to our house; It must appear in other ways than words,
   Therefore I scant this breathing courtesy. William Shakespeare, Merch. of Ven.

   Who have seen his estate, his hospitality, his courtesy to strangers. Henry Peacham.

   He, who was compounded of all the elements of affability and courtesy towards all kind of people, brought himself to a habit of neglect, and even of rudeness, towards the queen. Edward Hyde.

   So gentle of condition was he known,
   That through the court his courtesy was blown. John Dryden, Fab.

   2. An act of civility or respect.

   Fair sir, you spit on me last Wednesday;
   You spurn’d me such a day; another time
   You call’d me dog; and for these courtesies,
   I’ll lend you thus much money. William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice.

   Repose you there, while I to the hard house
   Return, and force their scanted courtesy. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.

   When I was last at Exeter,
   The mayor in courtesy shew’d me the castle. William Shakespeare, R. III.

   Sound all the lofty instruments of war,
   And by that musick let us all embrace;
   For heav’n to earth some of us never shall
   A second time do such a courtesy. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.

   Other states, assuredly, cannot be justly accused for not staying for the first blow; or for not accepting Polyphemus’s courtesy, to be the last that shall be eaten up. Francis Bacon.

   3. The reverence made by women.

   Some country girl, scarce to a court’sy bred,
   Would I much rather than Cornelia wed;
   If, supercilious, haughty, proud and vain,
   She brought her father’s triumphs in her train. John Dryden, Juven.

   The poor creature was as full of courtesies as if I had been her godmother: the truth on’t is, I endeavoured to make her look something Christian-like. William Congreve, Old Batchelor.

   4. A tenure, not of right, but by the favour of others; as, to hold upon courtesy.5. Courtesy of England.A tenure by which, if a man marry an inheritance, that is, a woman seised of land, and getteth a child of her that comes alive into the world, though both the child and his wife die forthwith; yet, if she were in possession, shall he keep the land during his life, and is called tenant per legem Angliæ, or by the courtesy of England. John Cowell

2. To Courtesyverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To perform an act of reverence.

   Toby approaches, and court’sies there to me. William Shakespeare.

   The petty traffickers,
   That court’sy to them, do them reverence. William Shakespeare.

   2. To make a reverence in the manner of ladies.

   If I should meet her in my way,
   We hardly court’sy to each other. Matthew Prior.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Courtesy

   Courtesy (from the word courteis, from the 12th century) is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. courtesy

   Courtesy is a polite and considerate behavior displayed towards others, often involving showing respect, kindness, and good manners. It involves being aware of and attending to the needs and feelings of others, while actively promoting a pleasant and harmonious environment in social interactions.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Courtesynoun

   politeness; civility; urbanity; courtliness

2. Courtesynoun

   an act of civility or respect; an act of kindness or favor performed with politeness

3. Courtesynoun

   favor or indulgence, as distinguished from right; as, a title given one by courtesy

4. Courtesynoun

   an act of civility, respect, or reverence, made by women, consisting of a slight depression or dropping of the body, with bending of the knees

5. Courtesyverb

   to make a respectful salutation or movement of respect; esp. (with reference to women), to bow the body slightly, with bending of the knes

6. Courtesyverb

   to treat with civility

7. Etymology: [See the preceding word.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Courtesy

   kort′e-si, or kurt′e-si, n. courtliness: elegance of manner: an act of civility or respect: a curtsy: (law) the life interest which the surviving husband has in the real or heritable estate of his wife.—v.i. to make a curtsy.—pr.p. court′esying; pa.p. court′esied.—n.pl. Court′esy-tī′tles, titles really invalid, but allowed by the usage of society—as to children of peers. [O. Fr. courtoisie.]

The Roycroft DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. courtesy

   1. The court clothes of any two-legged predatory animal. 2. The oil that makes a juggernaut noiseless.

Matched Categories

1. • Politeness
   • Remark

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'courtesy' in Nouns Frequency: #2833

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. [["1524","5"],["1563","2"],["1564","1"],["1572","1"],["1574","3"],["1575","2"],["1579","13"],["1582","4"],["1584","2"],["1587","4"],["1592","7"],["1595","2"],["1618","4"],["1620","1"],["1621","1"],["1624","8"],["1626","3"],["1629","1"],["1635","2"],["1637","1"],["1638","1"],["1643","2"],["1644","1"],["1648","1"],["1649","2"],["1653","3"],["1655","1"],["1658","2"],["1659","1"],["1662","11"],["1664","1"],["1669","3"],["1673","1"],["1675","4"],["1676","1"],["1679","2"],["1681","5"],["1682","2"],["1683","1"],["1684","2"],["1685","14"],["1687","1"],["1688","3"],["1693","8"],["1696","1"],["1698","2"],["1699","2"],["1700","2"],["1701","1"],["1703","3"],["1704","4"],["1705","2"],["1706","4"],["1709","1"],["1710","1"],["1711","4"],["1712","3"],["1713","6"],["1714","1"],["1715","11"],["1716","6"],["1717","2"],["1719","3"],["1720","3"],["1722","11"],["1723","9"],["1724","23"],["1725","1"],["1726","10"],["1727","17"],["1728","15"],["1729","4"],["1730","2"],["1731","8"],["1732","6"],["1733","6"],["1735","1"],["1736","4"],["1737","5"],["1738","7"],["1739","23"],["1740","18"],["1741","1"],["1742","51"],["1743","4"],["1744","7"],["1745","7"],["1746","3"],["1747","10"],["1748","11"],["1749","9"],["1750","14"],["1751","53"],["1752","45"],["1753","44"],["1754","76"],["1755","107"],["1756","13"],["1757","27"],["1758","25"],["1759","118"],["1760","68"],["1761","71"],["1762","31"],["1763","54"],["1764","52"],["1765","45"],["1766","100"],["1767","52"],["1768","69"],["1769","40"],["1770","75"],["1771","43"],["1772","70"],["1773","83"],["1774","67"],["1775","90"],["1776","105"],["1777","126"],["1778","81"],["1779","101"],["1780","69"],["1781","92"],["1782","94"],["1783","86"],["1784","132"],["1785","88"],["1786","89"],["1787","194"],["1788","154"],["1789","169"],["1790","103"],["1791","191"],["1792","298"],["1793","125"],["1794","174"],["1795","231"],["1796","297"],["1797","245"],["1798","191"],["1799","184"],["1800","317"],["1801","482"],["1802","390"],["1803","563"],["1804","418"],["1805","640"],["1806","589"],["1807","1333"],["1808","768"],["1809","821"],["1810","789"],["1811","1042"],["1812","830"],["1813","744"],["1814","1011"],["1815","1001"],["1816","1082"],["1817","1026"],["1818","1277"],["1819","1285"],["1820","2357"],["1821","1403"],["1822","2253"],["1823","1990"],["1824","2490"],["1825","3400"],["1826","2124"],["1827","2258"],["1828","2319"],["1829","2594"],["1830","3039"],["1831","2868"],["1832","3104"],["1833","3170"],["1834","3257"],["1835","3376"],["1836","3968"],["1837","3323"],["1838","3876"],["1839","4473"],["1840","4000"],["1841","3867"],["1842","3376"],["1843","3570"],["1844","4352"],["1845","4921"],["1846","5050"],["1847","4465"],["1848","5078"],["1849","4781"],["1850","5583"],["1851","5552"],["1852","6586"],["1853","7163"],["1854","7416"],["1855","6818"],["1856","8244"],["1857","6512"],["1858","5934"],["1859","6708"],["1860","7481"],["1861","5394"],["1862","4565"],["1863","4808"],["1864","5813"],["1865","5174"],["1866","6247"],["1867","6050"],["1868","6104"],["1869","6129"],["1870","6090"],["1871","6122"],["1872","6107"],["1873","6627"],["1874","6860"],["1875","7278"],["1876","7069"],["1877","7401"],["1878","6660"],["1879","7301"],["1880","9715"],["1881","8845"],["1882","9436"],["1883","11563"],["1884","9904"],["1885","9615"],["1886","8100"],["1887","9504"],["1888","9047"],["1889","8508"],["1890","9027"],["1891","9462"],["1892","11407"],["1893","11926"],["1894","11560"],["1895","11949"],["1896","12844"],["1897","13003"],["1898","14587"],["1899","17129"],["1900","17585"],["1901","16400"],["1902","17748"],["1903","15889"],["1904","17531"],["1905","16379"],["1906","17304"],["1907","16796"],["1908","16803"],["1909","14881"],["1910","16973"],["1911","16037"],["1912","16956"],["1913","16259"],["1914","15527"],["1915","12684"],["1916","13766"],["1917","14157"],["1918","10959"],["1919","12927"],["1920","15687"],["1921","13822"],["1922","17445"],["1923","14629"],["1924","13238"],["1925","14842"],["1926","14291"],["1927","16790"],["1928","15407"],["1929","16181"],["1930","15514"],["1931","14435"],["1932","13590"],["1933","11446"],["1934","13968"],["1935","14996"],["1936","15308"],["1937","16170"],["1938","16219"],["1939","14985"],["1940","14653"],["1941","15269"],["1942","11939"],["1943","11581"],["1944","10649"],["1945","10733"],["1946","15776"],["1947","17825"],["1948","18070"],["1949","21570"],["1950","18205"],["1951","19096"],["1952","18853"],["1953","19075"],["1954","18881"],["1955","20053"],["1956","20273"],["1957","22507"],["1958","20763"],["1959","22003"],["1960","24085"],["1961","26642"],["1962","30760"],["1963","33523"],["1964","32765"],["1965","35624"],["1966","34200"],["1967","38193"],["1968","40702"],["1969","41178"],["1970","40536"],["1971","38839"],["1972","41981"],["1973","39285"],["1974","38461"],["1975","38719"],["1976","40366"],["1977","39620"],["1978","40736"],["1979","40959"],["1980","42524"],["1981","45398"],["1982","47198"],["1983","48634"],["1984","50722"],["1985","51704"],["1986","55617"],["1987","55820"],["1988","55383"],["1989","59701"],["1990","64118"],["1991","61959"],["1992","71555"],["1993","65759"],["1994","72663"],["1995","75927"],["1996","81403"],["1997","82493"],["1998","84436"],["1999","91750"],["2000","106839"],["2001","108623"],["2002","116534"],["2003","128942"],["2004","143273"],["2005","144898"],["2006","147574"],["2007","164867"],["2008","215003"]]

Anagrams for courtesy »

1. cosurety

How to pronounce courtesy?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say courtesy in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of courtesy in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of courtesy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of courtesy in a Sentence

1. Bryant McGill:

   Courtesy is a silver lining around the dark clouds of civilization; it is the best part of refinement and in many ways, an art of heroic beauty in the vast gallery of man’s cruelty and baseness.

2. Eliot Weisman:

   He didn’t like confrontation, period, especially in his family. And everybody in his family was aware of it… From time to time, whether it was Barbara alone or the kids or a combination, some things would get out of whack. Frank Sinatra greeting a fan. (Courtesy of Eliot Weisman) I think he became more upset, depressed about those things... It bothered him when there was confrontation about who’s getting what in the future after his death… He wanted his wife taken care of and his kids taken care of fairly.

3. Frank Ryan:

   Members should attempt to come to the floor within the 15-minute period as prescribed by the first ring of the bells, as a point of courtesy to each of your colleagues, voting within the allotted time would help with the maintenance of the institution.

4. Randy Houser:

   Any time I can spend some of my time with a military family is special for me, these families have sacrificed so much so I can go out and perform and do what I love. It was great to meet the Jackson family, hear their story and have them enjoy the concert courtesy of my partner, Eckrich.

5. Oliver Wendell Holmes:

   Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Except in cases of necessity, which are rare, leave your friend to learn unpleasant things from his enemies they are ready enough to tell them.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=courtesy
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Courtesy
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=courtesy
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtesy
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/courtesy
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=courtesy
8. ^ The Roycroft Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36566/36566-h/36566-h.htm#:~:text=courtesy
9. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=courtesy