Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

politesse

/pɑləˈtɛs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.34 in modern English

Syllables: po-litesse
IPA: /pɑləˈtɛs/

11

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"So if you meet me, have some courtesy / Have some sympathy, and some taste / Use all your well-learned politesse / Or I'll lay your soul to waste"
"The reference in his letter to ‘having a drink’ is of course just an empty politesse."
"The soft politesse concealed a sharp observer, a gleaner of information, cool under pressure and used to having to think several steps ahead […]"

Etymology

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”).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: politesse, politezza, polire

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /pɑləˈtɛs/
British English: /pɒlɪˈtɛs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

politesses (plural)

Synonyms

chivalry gallantry

Questions

How do you pronounce politesse?: The recorded pronunciation is /pɑləˈtɛs/.
What does politesse mean?: Civility, politeness, courtesy or gallantry; genteel politeness or an instance of this.
Where does politesse come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce politesse

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “politesse”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɑləˈtɛs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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