▪ I. courtesy, n.
(ˈkɔətɪsɪ, ˈkɜː-)
Forms: 3–4 cortesie, -sye, (3 kurteisie), 4 cortaysye, -se, 4–5 curtasy, -ase, -asi, -aisi, -assy, -esi, -eisie, -eisye, -eysye, -essy(e, -issie, -osye, -ysy, 4–6 curtasie, 4–7 curtesie, -sye, 4–9 curtesy, 5 courteisie, curtoyse, -oysy, 5–8 courtesie, 6 curteyse, -ezy, -eosie, (curt'sie, curtsie, cur'sie, curchy), courtesye, -aysye, (7 courteosie), 6– courtesy. See also curtsy.
[a. OF. cur-, cortesie (later courtoisie) = Pr. cortezia, It. cortesia, a Romanic abstract in -{iacu}a, from cortese courteous. Before the 19th c. pronounced (kɜː-); c 1893 more generally (kɔə-), exc. in sense 4, which was also commonly spelt curtesy; in 20th c. usu. (kɜː-). In the 16th c. the medial short e was frequently elided, giving court'sy, curt'sy, formerly occasional in all senses, but now confined to 9, and treated as a separate word: see curtsy.]
1. a. Courteous behaviour; courtly elegance and politeness of manners; graceful politeness or considerateness in intercourse with others.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 416 Of ancre kurtesie, and of ancre largesse, is i-kumen ofte sunne & scheome on ende. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1529 Þat somtyme men held velany Now yhung men haldes curtasy. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 46 A Knyght ther was..he loued chiualrie, Trouthe and honour fredom and curteisie. c 1450 Merlin xxvii. 529 It is no curteisie a man to avaunte of hymself. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iv. 61, I am the very pinck of curtesie. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Ch. Porch xlix, Courtesie grows in court; news in the citie. 1653 Holcroft Procopius 3 The King..entertained the Ambassador with much curtesie. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. iv. 164 The Lieutenant endeavoured, with great courtesy, to dissipate their fright. 1845 Ford Handbk. Spain i. 8 In no country is more to be obtained by the cheap outlay of courtesy in manner and speech. 1889 Spectator 12 Oct., Courtesy, the true considerateness which will infringe no right of another..which recognises all individuality and pays homage to all just claims, is self-suppression in action, as well as concrete sympathy. |
b. to show or do one (a) courtesy: also
fig.| 1652 Culpepper Eng. Physic. 97 An Ointment or Plaister of it might do a man a courtesie that hath any hot virulent sores. |
† c. to strain courtesy or
pinch courtesy: (
a) to insist too much on, be over-punctilious in, the observance of courtesy; to stand upon ceremony; (
b) to act or treat with less than due courtesy.
| (a) 1528 More Heresyes i. Wks. 107/2 Without any strayning of curtesie, whereof the serimonyes in disputacion marreth much of the matter. 1530 Palsgr. 657, I pynche courtaysye as one doth that is nyce of condyscions. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 69 Modestye caused us to pinch curtesie, who should first come. 1594 Carew Tasso (1881) 101 Yet to this honour, as my fitting hire, If you me call, I will not curchy straine. 1623 J. Taylor (Water P.) Disc. to Salisbury 25 a (N.) But, like gossips neere a stile, they stand straining courtesie who shall goe first. 1641 Milton Reform. i. (1851) 4 Such was Peters unseasonable Humilitie..who..would needs straine courtesy with his Master. [1820 Lamb Two Races Men Wks. 1876 III. 167 Strain not courtesies with a noble enemy.] |
| (b) 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iv. 55 Pardon Mercutio, my businesse was great, and in such a case as mine, a man may straine curtesie. 1594 Lyly Moth. Bomb. iii. iii, I must straine cur'sie with you, I have businesse, I cannot stay. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 150 Princesse Eromilia (whom feare had caused to strain courtesie with her religious vow). |
2. a. As a quality: Courteous disposition; courteousness;
† also nobleness, generosity, benevolence, goodness (
obs.).
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 189 Þe Kynges los so wyde sprong ynou Of godenesse & of cortesye. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 378 Crist, of his curtasie, interpretiþ þer wordis to goode. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 11 b, Whiche vertues, as chastity..curtesy, gentylnes..good maner, and suche other. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 557/2 Let vs learne to esteeme God's graces, to the ende they may bring vs to all courtesie. 1754 Sherlock Disc. (1759) I. xiii. 344 Love towards Inferiors..is Courtesy and Condescension. 1887 Fowler Princ. Mor. ii. ii. 97 Kindness may be defined as a disposition to confer benefits, courtesy as a disposition to waive rights. 1891 G. W. Russell Gladstone xi. 280 A most engaging quality of Mr. Gladstone's character is his courtesy. |
† b. to stand to or at the courtesy (of): to depend or be dependent upon the indulgence, favour, or kindness of; similarly
to leave to, be at the courtesy (of).
Obs.| 1538 Starkey England i. iv. 111 Some prouysyon for the second bretherne..and not to leue them bare to the only curtesy of theyr eldyst brother. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1594) 143 It is better..to stand at the curtesy of crowes than of flatterers. 1611 Bible Ecclus. xxxiii. 21 For better it is that thy children should seeke to thee, then that thou shouldst stand to their courtesie. 1654 Burton's Diary (1828) I. Introd. 64 That did place the legislative power absolutely in the Parliament, and left it at courtesy, whether the Parliament would after concede any negatives to him. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 43 We always let a raw brother come in for a full share to encourage him, but afterward..he stands to courtesy. 1731 Medley Kolben's Cape G. Hope I. 300 The younger sons of a Hottentot..are at the courtesie of the eldest both for their fortunes and liberty. |
3. a. of, by († at) courtesy: by favour or indulgence; by common good will or allowance, as distinguished from inherent or legal right.
| 1587 Harrison England ii. v. (1877) i. 115 His [a knight's] wife also of courtesie so long as she liueth is called my ladie. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. xxx. (Arb.) 72 March paines and such other dainty meates as by the curtesie and custome euery gest might carry from a common feast home with him to his owne house. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII, 4 If he relied upon that Title he could be but a King at Curtesie. 1647 H. More Song of Soul ii. ii. ii. xxi, It has no unity Therewith, but onely doth of cur'sy lend It life. 1661 Bramhall Just Vind. iv. 58 The Popes in latter times had some power in England, of Courtesy not of Duty. 1706–43 Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. 165 Only of Courtesy the Title of Lord is given to all the Sons of Dukes and Marquisses, and to the Eldest Sons of Earls. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xx. 185 One..who calls himself (by curtesy) Your humble servant. 1841 Macaulay W. Hastings Ess. (1854) II. 657/1 By the courtesy of the House, a member who has been thanked in his place is considered as having a right always to occupy that place. |
b. Hence
courtesy title: a title of no legal validity given by social custom or courtesy;
esp. applied to the territorial titles given to the eldest sons of earls and peers of higher rank, the prefix
Lord or
Lady to the names of the younger sons and the daughters of dukes and marquises, and of
Honourable to the children of Viscounts and Barons. So also
courtesy rank, etc. Also
transf.| 1844 Stanley Arnold (1858) I. iii. 91 The courtesy rank which they had acquired already. 1865 E. Lucas in Ess. Relig. & Lit. (ed. Manning) 361 A sort of courtesy-title, allowed to some aggregation of men who profess to belong to the One Society, but who do not in reality belong to it. 1887 Daily News 7 Sept. 6/3 The deceased..is succeeded in the courtesy title by his brother. 1889 Whitaker's Alm. 660 (heading) Titles of Courtesy borne by Eldest sons of Dukes, etc. |
4. Law.
a. A tenure by which a husband, after his wife's death, holds certain kinds of property which she has inherited, the conditions varying with the nature of the property. More fully called
courtesy (curtesy) of England or
courtesy of Scotland.
The most common instance is that in which the husband holds for life estates of which the wife in her lifetime has been seised in fee-simple or fee-tail, provided there has been lawful issue of the marriage able to inherit.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 12 Tenauntes by the curtesy, tenauntes in dower. 1531 Dial. on Laws Eng. i. vii. (1638) 14 To hold as tenant by the curtesie of England. Ibid. ii. xv. 84 No man shall be tenant by the curtesie of Land, without his wife have possession in deed. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. Table 73 Curtesie of Scotland, is quhen ane man mareis ane heretrice of lands: procreates vpon hir ane quick barne, maill, or female: And it happens the woman onlie, or beath the woman and the bairne, to deceise. 1641 Termes de la Ley 98 b. 1741 T. Robinson Gavelkind iv. 42 The husband shall be Tenant by the Curtesy of a Moiety. 1754 Erskine Princ. Sc. Law (1809) 234 A marriage, though of the longest continuance, gives no right to the courtesy, if there was no issue of it. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 158 (heading) Origin of Estates by the Curtesy, and Circumstances required to their Existence..Curtesy in Gavel-kind. 1848 Wharton Law Lex. 155/1 The wife's equitable inheritances are subject to courtesy. 1876 Digby Real Prop. iii. 148 An estate by the curtesy of England. |
† b. (See
quot.)
Obs.| 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 126 After I had served out the five years' servitude [having been kidnapped as a slave to Virginia], I should have the courtesy of the country, as they called it, that is a certain quantity of land to cultivate and plant for myself. |
5. U.S. Courtesy of the Senate: (
a) the custom by which the President of the United States, in making appointments to office, is guided by the wishes of the Senators of the State in which the office is held; (
b) the custom by which the nomination of Senators or Ex-senators to an office is confirmed without reference to a committee.
| 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. (1889) I. vi. 58 By this system, which obtained the name of the Courtesy of the Senate, the President was practically enslaved as regards appointments. Ibid. The ‘Courtesy of the Senate’ would never have attained its present strength but for the growth..of the so-called Spoils System. |
6. (with
pl.) A courteous act or expression.
| c 1450 Bk. Curtasye 171 in Babees Bk. 304 Anoþer curtayse y wylle þe teche. 1582 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 419 By your greate favoures and curteosies obteynynge the same. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. xi. 11 He fiercely gan assay That curt'sie with like kindnesse to repay. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 129 1627 J. Ware in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 134 The many curtesies which I received from you at my last being in England. 1702 Rowe Tamerl. iii. i, To have a nauseous Courtesie forc'd on me. 1832 Southey Penins. War III. 925 All the courtesies and humanities of generous warfare. 1847 Tennyson Princess i. 162 He seem'd to slur With garrulous ease and oily courtesies Our formal compact. 1880 L. Stephen Pope iv. 95 Some courtesies even passed between him and the great Sir Robert Walpole. |
7. The courteous or ceremonious expression of apology or deprecation: in phrases
to make courtesy (at), to make a show of ceremonious deprecation, to scruple;
to make no courtesy, to make no ceremony, scruple, or ‘bones’ (
at or
of).
Obs.| 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. (1877) 69 (D.) Plato refused to doe it..but Aristippus made no courtesie at the matter. 1548 Hall Chron. (1809) 638 When the Lorde Chamberlaine had tolde this message they [the 2 Ambassadors] rode furth and made no more curtesie. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 249/2 They that haue any honestie or any shame in them, will make courtesie at it. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. (Arb.) 284 A very great gift, which he made curtesy to accept, saying it was too much for such a mean person. |
† 8. The customary expression of respect by action or gesture,
esp. to a superior; the action of inclining, bowing, or lowering the body; usually in phrase
to make courtesy or
do courtesy.
Obs.| 1513 Bk. of Keruynge in Babees Bk. (1868) 270 Whan your souerayne is set..make your souerayne curtesy. 1549 Coverdale Erasm. Par. Phil. 5 In the name of y⊇ same Jesus..euery knee should bowe & make courtesie. c 1550 Cheke Matt. xxiii. 7 Thei..loov..to have curtesi doon to them in the commun places. 1553 Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 25 All suche as wayte on hym, stoupe downe and make lowe courtesie. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. ii. iii. 114 The Elephant hath ioynts, but none for curtesie. 1645 Ussher Body Div. (1647) 232 Them that make curtesie to the Chancell where the high Altar stood. |
9. An obeisance: see
curtsy n. 3.
† 10. A ‘mannerly’ or moderate quantity;
= curtsy n. 4.
Obs.| 1530 Palsgr. 463/2 It is good for your sonne to drinke a courtesye [ung peu] of Malvesye. 1535 Coverdale 1 Kings xvii. 12, I haue no bred, but an handfull of floure in a pitcher, & a curtesy oyle in a cruse. 1609 Bible (Douay) Gen. xliii. 11 Carie to the man for presents, a courtesie of rosen, and of honey, and of incense. 1627 Treas. Hidden Secrets xliv, Take a curtesie of Storax liquida. |
† 11. Used like
worship, etc. as an ascriptive title.
| 1631 J. Done Polydoron 22 Hee that showes store of Money amongst needie persons whets a borrower to cut his Courteosies purse or a Theife to steale it. |
12. attrib. and
Comb. as
courtesy campaign;
courtesy call = courtesy visit;
courtesy card (
orig. U.S.), a card entitling the holder to certain privileges;
courtesy cop colloq., a policeman whose duty it is to persuade motorists, etc., to good behaviour by courtesy rather than by toughness; so
courtesy patrol;
courtesy light, a light inside a car that is automatically switched on when one of the doors is opened;
† courtesy-morsel, a piece left ‘for manners' sake’, a ‘manners-bit’;
courtesy rank,
title (see 3 b);
courtesy visit (see
quot. 1934).
| 1957 R. Graves tr. Suetonius's 12 Caesars ix. 270 One of these men paid a courtesy call at the Palace. 1970 W. J. Burley To kill a Cat i. 7 Detective Chief Superintendent Wycliffe..was on holiday though paying a courtesy call at the local police station. |
| 1962 Economist 13 Jan. 139/1 The ‘courtesy campaign’, organised by a group of progressive women, has had some success. |
| 1934 Amer. Speech IX. 111/1 For families planning a vacation there is an abundance of free travel literature, road maps, courtesy cards, etc. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 33 The ticket for all these activities is called the College Week courtesy card. It is issued only to bona fide students who can present their college identity card. |
| 1938 Daily Mail 4 Apr. 9/5 In the London area the ‘courtesy cops’ will concentrate at first on four of the busiest roads. 1940 Graves & Hodge Long Week-End xxii. 379 The ‘courtesy cops’—policemen in cars with orders to warn drivers politely but firmly. 1962 M. Urquhart Frail on N. Circular i. 8 A sergeant on motor-cycle patrol, he came under the category of courtesy cop. |
| 1959 Times 2 Oct. 11/3 Courtesy lights are now actuated by the opening of any of the four doors. |
| 1613 T. Godwin Rom. Antiq. (1625) 41 When we see a glutton leave nothing in the platter, not so much as the curtesi-morsell, we say Lari sacrificat. |
| 1961 Economist 21 Oct. 228/1 Even the men who police the road [in Colorado] are called a ‘courtesy patrol’ and have no police power off the highways, and very little on them. |
| 1934 Webster, Courtesy adj.,..granted or performed as a courtesy or by way of courtesy; as, a courtesy letter or visit. 1937 Burlington Mag. Mar. 112/2 It is no doubt quite possible that Guercino paid a courtesy-visit to Lodovico. |
13. attrib. passing into adj. (Supplied,
esp. for use) free of charge, as a courtesy:
esp. courtesy car. Chiefly
U.S.| 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 50/1 (Advt.), Courtesy car supplied only at Eglinton Caledonia Volkswagen. 1970 Washington Post 30 Sept. b4/4 Tell us the dress size you want to wear... Call us now for a free courtesy treatment and figure analysis without obligation. 1975 D. Lodge Changing Places i. 26 He tries to read a courtesy copy of Time, but can't concentrate. 1978 R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant x. 117 We've just learned that your courtesy basket was not delivered in time. 1979 United States 1980/81 (Penguin Travel Guides) 117 The management provides a courtesy car to the Loop, daily from 8 am to 4 pm. 1984 Times 14 May 17/5 In-bound passengers..can wait comfortably in a ‘buffer lounge’ (with pay phones and courtesy phones for car-hire and hotel bookings). |
▪ II. ˈcourtesy, v. [f. prec. n.] † 1. trans. To treat with courtesy; to pay courteous attentions to.
Obs.| 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1631) III. xi. 256/1 marg., Boner looked to be curtised. a 1595 Sir R. Williams Act. Low Countries (1618) 5 (T.), The prince politickly courtesied him with all favours. |
2. intr. To make a curtsy: see
curtsy v. 1.