Courteous Meaning
/ˈkɜːti.əs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjShowing regard or thought for others; especially, displaying good manners or etiquette.
Sentence Examples
You must be courteous to any guest.
It is very courteous of you to call on me.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ host offered a warm smile and a firm handshake.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You must be ____ to any guest.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English curteis, from Old French curteis (French courtois), from cort (“court”). By surface analysis, court + -eous. Compare typologically Czech zdvořilý (<~ dvůr), German höflich (<~ Hof). Also note Russian прийти́сь ко двору́ (prijtísʹ ko dvorú). Compare typologically civil, urbane. See pagan for the opposite.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Nectar ran / In courteous fountains to all cups outreach'd; / And plunder'd vines, teeming exhaustless, pleach'd / New growth about each shell and pendent lyre; [...]"
— 1818, John Keats, “Book III”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] T[homas] Miller, […] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, page 149, lines 932–935:
"His exhortations to his assistants to waste no time in getting on with the job, and to be tactful and courteous with those outside the railway service with whom they had to deal, are as apposite today as they were a century ago."
— 1958 August 26, “More Light on Brunel”, in Railway Magazine, page 516:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ host offered a warm smile and a firm handshake.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You must be ____ to any guest.