Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: corteisie, from corteis; COURTEOUS

courtesy

1 noun
     
cour‧te‧sy1 plural courtesies
1 [uncountable] polite behaviour and respect for other people [= politeness; ≠ discourtesy]:
It's a matter of common courtesy to acknowledge letters.
have the courtesy to do something
He didn't even have the courtesy to call and say he couldn't come.
2 [countable] something you do or say to be polite:
The two men exchanged courtesies before getting down to business.
3

(by) courtesy of somebody

by someone's permission or kindness, rather than by paying them:
photographs supplied courtesy of Blenheim Palace
4

(by) courtesy of something

if one thing happens courtesy of another, the second thing caused the first:
Healy received a deep cut on his left hand, courtesy of Nicol's ice skate.
5

do somebody the courtesy of doing something

to be polite enough to do something for someone:
At least do me the courtesy of telling the truth.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary