polite English · revision 15079

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1398|origins=la poliō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pəˈlaɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|polyt]], [[bor|la|polītus|t=polished, refined, elegant]], the past participle of [[m|la|poliō|t=to polish, make smooth]] (see [[polish]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Polished, burnished: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew, in Barnhart; the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It is a surname, Polyte, in 1263.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The literal sense is obsolete.^(Etymonline) Around 1500 the idea of something carefully finished passed to language and behaviour:^(Cresswell 2021) of the arts and literature, refined and elegant, it is from 1501.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Of persons, cultivated in manners and speech, it is from 1629.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The sense courteous, considerate, is first found in Goldsmith's Citizen of the World (1762) in Barnhart and the OED,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) though Etymonline finds it implied in politely by 1748.^(Etymonline) To ''do the polite'' is colloquial, from 1856.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1263 – Polyte (surname).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1398 – polished.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1501 – refined (of the arts).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1629 – cultivated (of persons).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1762 – courteous.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Showing regard for others in manners and speech; [[courteous]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Cultivated or refined: ''polite society''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Elegant or polished: ''polite letters''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[politely]]

+ * [[politeness]]

+ * [[superpolite]]

+ * [[unpolite]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[polish]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}