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Courtesy   /kˈərtəsi/   Listen
noun
Courtesy  n.  (pl. courtesies)  
1.
Politeness; civility; urbanity; courtliness. "And trust thy honest-offered courtesy, With oft is sooner found in lowly sheds, With smoky rafters, than in tapestry walls And courts of princes, where it first was named, And yet is most pretended." "Pardon me, Messer Claudio, if once more I use the ancient courtesies of speech."
2.
An act of civility or respect; an act of kindness or favor performed with politeness. "My lord, for your many courtesies I thank you."
3.
Favor or indulgence, as distinguished from right; as, a title given one by courtesy.
Courtesy title, a title assumed by a person, or popularly conceded to him, to which he has no valid claim; as, the courtesy title of Lord prefixed to the names of the younger sons of noblemen.
Synonyms: Politeness; urbanity; civility; complaisance; affability; courteousness; elegance; refinement; courtliness; good breeding. See Politeness.



Courtesy  n.  (Written also curtsy and curtsey)  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. "The lady drops a courtesy in token of obedience, and the ceremony proceeds as usual."



verb
Courtesy  v. t.  To treat with civility. (Obs.)



Courtesy  v. i.  (past & past part. courtesied; pres. part. courtesying)  To make a respectful salutation or movement of respect; esp. (with reference to women), to bow the body slightly, with bending of the knes.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Courtesy" Quotes from Famous Books



... upon mine honour; either of which was far more dear unto me than my life. Wherefore, having observed how some others had befooled themselves by misconstruing her common kindness, expressed in an innocent, open, free, and familiar conversation, springing from the abundant affability, courtesy, and sweetness of her natural temper, to be the effect of a singular regard and peculiar affection to them, I resolved to shun the rock on which I had seen so many run and split; and remembering that saying of ...
— The History of Thomas Ellwood Written by Himself • Thomas Ellwood

... leaving the station, a vessel arrived from the Bahr Gazal, by which I received a letter from the German traveller, Dr. Schweinfurth. This gentleman, to whom I was quite unknown personally, had the extreme courtesy and generosity to intrust me with all the details of his geographical observations, collected in his journey in the Western ...
— Ismailia • Samuel W. Baker

... had never regretted it. Oku was one of those ideal retainers who, once they have found an attachment, would rather die than betray their trust. His command of the vernacular was only limited, but he was the very soul of courtesy and politeness, and when not otherwise able to make himself understood, would content himself by a number of low salaams, accompanied by most apologetic exclamations of: "Excuse, please—excuse, please," which original form of salutation, together with his Far-Eastern air, was ...
— Bought and Paid For - From the Play of George Broadhurst • Arthur Hornblow

... the episcopal office, it is beyond my power to set forth how well and how much he [Martin] performed. For he remained with the utmost constancy the same as he had been before. In his heart there was the same humility and in his garments the same simplicity; and so full of dignity and courtesy, he maintained the dignity of a bishop, yet so as not to lay aside the objects and virtues of a monk. Accordingly he made use for some time of the cell connected with the church; but afterward, when he felt it impossible to tolerate the disturbance of the numbers ...
— A Source Book for Ancient Church History • Joseph Cullen Ayer, Jr., Ph.D.

... happening at Hugo's, at Hugo's, so famous for the courtesy, the long patience, the indestructible politeness of its well-paid employes? And could Hugo have descended to the trickeries of the eleven-pence-halfpenny draper, who proclaimed non-existent bargains to lure the unwary into his shop? ...
— Hugo - A Fantasia on Modern Themes • Arnold Bennett


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