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couth

 - 4 dictionary results

couth

1  [kooth] Facetious.
Use couth in a Sentence
–adjective
1. showing or having good manners or sophistication; smooth: Sending her flowers would be a very couth thing to do.
–noun
2. good manners; refinement: to be lacking in couth.
Origin:
1895–1900; back formation from uncouth

couth

2  [kooth]
–adjective Archaic.
known or acquainted with.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME, OE cūth ptp. of cunnan to know (see can 2 , could )
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To couth
couth   (kōōth)   
adj.  Marked by or possessing a high degree of sophistication; refined: "Many picnics manage without this sophistication, but we like to be couth and feel that the delicacies of gracious living enhance the chances" (John Gould).
n.  Refinement; sophistication: "The man has no couth" (Los Angeles Times).

[Back-formation from uncouth.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

couth 
O.E. cuðe "known," pp. of cunnan (see can) died out as such 16c., but the word was reborn 1896, with a new sense of "cultured, refined," as a back-formation from uncouth (q.v.). The O.E. word forms the first element in the man's proper name Cuthbert, lit. "famous-bright."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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