politesse
/pɑləˈtɛs/noun
politesse is spelled P-O-L-I-T-E-S-S-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, politesse means “Civility, politeness, courtesy or gallantry; genteel politeness or an instance of this” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of politesse is politesses.
How many letters and syllables are in politesse?
| Letters | 9: P-O-L-I-T-E-S-S-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 46 million words; the 209,386th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is politesse?
Politesse appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th 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 politesse?
- UK /pɒlɪˈtɛs/
- US /pɑləˈtɛs/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What rhymes with politesse?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as politesse from its last stressed vowel (/ɛs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of politesse
- politesses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does politesse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Civility, politeness, courtesy or gallantry; genteel politeness or an instance of this.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Politesse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense civility, courtesy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | savoir-vivre |
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 politesse come from?
From French politesse, from Italian politezza, from polito, past participle of pulire (“to clean”), from Latin polire, present active infinite form of poliō (“to polish”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).