9 results for: Polite

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

po·lite

Audio Help [puh-lahyt] Pronunciation Key

–adjective, -lit·er, -lit·est.

1.	showing good manners toward others, as in behavior, speech, etc.; courteous; civil: a polite reply.

2.	refined or cultured: polite society.

3.	of a refined or elegant kind: polite learning.

[Origin: 1400–50; late ME < L polītus, ptp. of polīre to polish

]

—Related forms

po·lite·ly, adverb

po·lite·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. well-bred, gracious. See civil. 2. urbane, polished, poised, courtly, cultivated.

—Antonyms 1, 2. rude.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Polite

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

po·lite Audio Help (pə-līt') Pronunciation Key
adj. po·lit·er, po·lit·est

Marked by or showing consideration for others, tact, and observance of accepted social usage.
Refined; elegant: polite society.

[Middle English polit, polished, from Latin polītus, past participle of polīre, to polish; see polish.]

po·lite'ly adv., po·lite'ness n.

Synonyms: These adjectives mean mindful of, conforming to, or marked by good manners. Polite and mannerly imply consideration for others and the adherence to conventional social standards of good behavior: "It costs nothing to be polite" (Winston S. Churchill). The child was scolded by his grandmother for not being more mannerly.
Civil suggests only the barest observance of accepted social usages; it often means merely neither polite nor rude: If you can't be friendly, at least be civil.
Courteous implies courtliness and dignity: "If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world" (Francis Bacon).
Genteel, which originally meant well-bred, now usually suggests excessive and affected refinement: "A man, indeed, is not genteel when he gets drunk" (James Boswell).

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
polite

1263, from L. politus "refined, elegant," lit. "polished," pp. of polire "to polish, to make smooth." Used literally at first in Eng.; sense of "elegant, cultured" is first recorded 1501, that of "behaving courteously" is 1762.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

polite
adjective
1.	showing regard for others in manners, speech, behavior, etc. [ant: impolite]
2.	marked by refinement in taste and manners; "cultivated speech"; "cultured Bostonians"; "cultured tastes"; "a genteel old lady"; "polite society" [syn: civilized]
3.	not rude; marked by satisfactory (or especially minimal) adherence to social usages and sufficient but not noteworthy consideration for others; "even if he didn't like them he should have been civil"- W.S. Maugham [syn: civil] [ant: rude]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
polite [pəˈlait] adjective

having or showing good manners; courteous
Example: a polite child; a polite apology

Arabic:	مُهَذَّب
Chinese (Simplified):	有礼貌的
Chinese (Traditional):	有禮貌的
Czech:	slušný
Danish:	velopdragen; høflig
Dutch:	beleefd
Estonian:	viisakas
Finnish:	kohtelias
French:	poli
German:	höflich
Greek:	ευγενικός
Hungarian:	udvarias
Icelandic:	kurteis
Indonesian:	sopan
Italian:	gentile, educato

Japanese:	礼儀正しい
Korean:	정중한, 예절 바른
Latvian:	pieklājīgs
Lithuanian:	mandagus
Norwegian:	høflig, dannet
Polish:	grzeczny
Portuguese (Brazil):	educado, polido
Portuguese (Portugal):	educado
Romanian:	politicos
Russian:	вежливый
Slovak:	zdvorilý, slušný
Slovenian:	vljuden
Spanish:	educado
Swedish:	artig, hövlig
Turkish:	kibar

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Polite

Im`po*lite"\, a. [L. impolitus unpolishied, pref. im- not + politus, p. p. of polire to polish, refine. See Polite.] Not polite; not of polished manners; wanting in good manners; discourteous; uncivil; rude. -- Im`po*lite"ly, adv. -- Im`po*lite"ness, n.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Polite

Pol"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Polished; p. pr. & vb. n. Polishing.] [F. polir, L. polire. Cf. Polite, -ish]

1. To make smooth and glossy, usually by friction; to burnish; to overspread with luster; as, to polish glass, marble, metals, etc.

2. Hence, to refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or rusticity of; to make elegant and polite; as, to polish life or manners. --Milton.

To polish off, to finish completely, as an adversary. [Slang] --W. H. Russell.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Polite

Po*lite"\, a. [Compar. Politer; superl. Politest.] [L. politus, p. p. of polire to polish: cf. F. poli. See Polish, v.]

1. Smooth; polished. [Obs.]

Rays of light falling on a polite surface. --Sir I. Newton.

2. Smooth and refined in behavior or manners; well bred; courteous; complaisant; obliging; civil.

He marries, bows at court, and grows polite. --Pope.

3. Characterized by refinement, or a high degree of finish; as, polite literature. --Macaulay.

Syn: Polished; refined; well bred; courteous; affable; urbane; civil; courtly; elegant; genteel.

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