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courtesy

cour·te·sy/ˈkɝɾəsi/noun, verb, adjective

courtesy is spelled C-O-U-R-T-E-S-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables (cour·te·sy). It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, courtesy means “Polite behavior” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of courtesy is courtesies.

How many letters and syllables are in courtesy?

Letters8: C-O-U-R-T-E-S-Y
Syllables3: cour·te·sy
In writing13 times per million words; the 5,778th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is courtesy?

Courtesy appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce courtesy?

  • UK /ˈkɜːtəsi/
  • US /ˈkɝɾəsi/

Courtesy has 3 syllables, split cour·te·sy in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-courtesy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of courtesy

  • courtesies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • courtesying participle, present
  • courtesied participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does courtesy mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Polite behavior.

    Please extend them the courtesy of your presence.

  2. 2

    A polite gesture or remark, especially as opposed to an obligation or standard practice.

    I offered them a ride simply as a courtesy.

  3. 3

    Consent or agreement in spite of fact; indulgence.

    They call this pond a lake by courtesy only.

  4. 4

    Willingness or generosity in providing something needed.

    They received free advertising through the courtesy of the local newspaper.

  5. 5

    datedA curtsey.

  6. 6

    The life interest that the surviving husband has in the real or heritable estate of his wife.

adjective

  1. 1

    Given or done as a polite gesture.

    We paid a courtesy visit to the new neighbors.

  2. 2

    Supplied free of charge.

    The event planners offered courtesy tickets for the reporters.

verb

  1. 1

    Alternative form of curtsey.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Courtesy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcourtoisie (polite behavior), politesse (polite gesture or remark), indulgence (consent or agreement in spite of fact…)
GermanHöflichkeit (polite behavior), Nachsicht, Kulanz (consent or agreement in spite of fact…), Gefälligkeit, Entgegenkommen (willingness or generosity in providing…)
Portuguesecortesia (polite behavior), indulgência (consent or agreement in spite of fact…), de cortesia (given or done as a polite gesture), grátis (free of charge)
Spanishcortesía (polite behavior), de cortesía (given or done as a polite gesture)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does courtesy come from?

From Middle English curteisie, curtesie, from Anglo-Norman curtesie, from Old French curteisie, cortoisie. Equivalent to courteous + -y (abstract noun suffix). By surface analysis, court + -esy.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after courtesy