civility

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin civilitas: compare French civilité. English equivalent civil + -ity.

noun

  1. Speech or behaviour that is fit for civil interactions; politeness, courtesy.
    December 1749 Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, letter to his son The insolent civility of a proud man is, if possible, more shocking than his rudeness could be.
  2. (chiefly in the plural) An individual act or expression of polite behaviour; a courtesy.
  3. (now archaic) The state or fact of being civilized; civilization.
    Monarchies have risen from barbarism to civility, and fallen again to ruin. 1612, John Davies, Discoverie of the True Causes why Ireland was never entirely subdued
  4. (obsolete) A civil office; a civil capacity.

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/civility), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.