Wordwyrt

courteous

/ˈkɜːtiəs/KUR-tee-uhs
/ˈkɝtiəs/KUR-tee-uhs

Meaningcurtois, curteis, court- eous

Common meaning: polite and considerate

Journey through time

  1. Old Frenchcorteis‘curtois, curteis, court- eous’source
  2. Middle Englishmeaning shiftscurtois, curteis, court- eous → politecoréais‘polite’source
  3. Englishcourteous‘polite and considerate’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old French corteis ‘curtois, curteis, court- eous’.

Roots

  • corteis Old French “curtois, curteis, court- eous”

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