# politesse

> English word · Noun · IPA /pɒlɪˈtɛs/

## Definitions
1. Civility, politeness, courtesy or gallantry; genteel politeness or an instance of this.

## Etymology
From French politesse, from Italian politezza, from polito, past participle of pulire (“to clean”), from Latin polire, present active infinite form of poliō (“I polish”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/politesse