Etymologically
Log in

polite

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pəˈlaɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English polyt, borrowed from Latin polītus (“polished, refined, elegant”), the past participle of poliō (“to polish, make smooth”) (see polish).[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Polished, burnished: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew, in Barnhart; the late 14th century in Etymonline.[2][3] It is a surname, Polyte, in 1263.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense is obsolete.[3] Around 1500 the idea of something carefully finished passed to language and behaviour:[7] of the arts and literature, refined and elegant, it is from 1501.[2][8][3] Of persons, cultivated in manners and speech, it is from 1629.[2][8] The sense courteous, considerate, is first found in Goldsmith's Citizen of the World (1762) in Barnhart and the OED,[2][8] though Etymonline finds it implied in politely by 1748.[3] To do the polite is colloquial, from 1856.[8]

Timeline

  • 1263 – Polyte (surname).[2]
  • before 1398 – polished.[2]
  • 1501 – refined (of the arts).[2][8]
  • 1629 – cultivated (of persons).[2][8]
  • 1762 – courteous.[2][8]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Showing regard for others in manners and speech; courteous.
  2. Cultivated or refined: polite society.
  3. Elegant or polished: polite letters.

Word family

  • politely
  • politeness
  • superpolite
  • unpolite

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press