Forms: 3–4 cortesie, -sye, (3 kurteisie), 4 cortaysye, -se, 4–5 curtasy, -ase, -asi, -aisi, -assy, -esi, -eisie, -eisye, -eysye, -essy(e, -issie, -osye, -ysy, 4–6 curtasie, 4–7 curtesie, -sye, 4–9 curtesy, 5 courteisie, curtoyse, -oysy, 5–8 courtesie, 6 curteyse, -ezy, -eosie, (curt’sie, curtsie, cur’sie, curchy), courtesye, -aysye, (7 courteosie), 6– courtesy. See also CURTSY. [a. OF. cur-, cortesie (later courtoisie) = Pr. cortezia, It. cortesia, a Romanic abstract in -ía, from cortese COURTEOUS. In the 16th c. the medial short e was frequently elided, giving court’sy, curt’sy, formerly occasional in all senses, but now confined to 9, and treated as a separate word: see CURTSY.]
1. Courteous behavior; courtly elegance and politeness of manners; graceful politeness or considerateness in intercourse with others.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 416. Of ancre kurtesie, and of ancre largesse, is i-kumen ofte sunne & scheome on ende.
a. 1340. Hampole, Pr. Consc., 1529. Þat somtyme men held velany Now yhung men haldes curtasy.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Prol., 46. A Knyght ther was … he loued chiualrie, Trouthe and honour fredom and curteisie.
c. 1450. Merlin, xxvii. 529. It is no curteisie a man to avaunte of hymself.
1592. Shaks., Rom. & Jul., II. iv. 61. I am the very pinck of curtesie.
1633. G. Herbert, Temple, Ch. Porch, xlix. Courtesie grows in court; news in the citie.
1653. Holcroft, Procopius, I. ii. 3. He [the King] entertained the Ambassador with much curtesie.
1748. Anson’s Voy., II. iv. 164. The Lieutenant endeavoured, with great courtesy, to dissipate their fright.
1845. Ford, Handbk. Spain, I. 8. In no country is more to be obtained by the cheap outlay of courtesy in manner and speech.
1889. Spectator, 12 Oct., 466/2. Courtesy, the true considerateness which will infringe no right of another,… which recognises all individuality and pays homage to all just claims, is self-suppression in action, as well as concrete sympathy.
b. To show or do one (a) courtesy: also fig.
1652. Culpepper, Eng. Physic., 97. An Ointment or Plaister of it might do a man a courtesie that hath any hot virulent sores.
† c. To strain or pinch courtesy: (a) to insist too much on, be over-punctilious in, the observance of courtesy; to stand upon ceremony; (b) to act or treat with less than due courtesy.
(a) 1528. More, Heresyes, I. Wks. 107/2. Without any strayning of curtesie, whereof the serimonyes in disputacion marreth much of the matter.
1530. Palsgr., 657. I pynche courtaysye as one doth that is nyce of condyscions.
1579. Lyly, Euphues (Arb.), 69. Modestye caused us to pinch curtesie, who should first come.
1594. Carew, Tasso (1881), 101. Yet to this honour, as my fitting hire, If you me call, I will not curchy straine.
1623. J. Taylor (Water P.), Disc. to Salisbury, 25 a (N.). But, like gossips neere a stile, they stand straining courtesie who shall goe first.
1641. Milton, Reform., I. (1851), 4. Such was Peters unseasonable Humilitie … who … would needs straine courtesy with his Master.
[1820. Lamb, Two Races Men, Wks. 1876, III. 167. Strain not courtesies with a noble enemy.]
(b) 1592. Shaks., Rom. & Jul., II. iv. 55. Pardon Mercutio, my businesse was great, and in such a case as mine, a man may straine curtesie.
1594. Lyly, Moth. Bomb., III. iii. I must straine cur’sie with you, I have businesse, I cannot stay.
1632. J. Hayward, trans. Biondi’s Eromena, 150. Princesse Eromilia (whom feare had caused to strain courtesie with her religious vow).
2. As a quality: Courteous disposition; courteousness; † also nobleness, generosity, benevolence, goodness (obs.).
1297. R. Glouc. (1724), 189. Þe Kynges los so wyde sprong ynou Of godenesse & of cortesye.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Serm., Sel. Wks. I. 378. Crist, of his curtasie, interpretiþ þer wordis to goode.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 11 b. Whiche vertues, as chastity … curtesy, gentylnes … good maner, and suche other.
1579. Tomson, Calvin’s Serm. Tim., 557/2. Let vs learne to esteeme Gods graces, to the ende they may bring vs to all courtesie.
1754. Sherlock, Disc. (1759), I. xiii. 344. Love towards Inferiors … is Courtesy and Condescension.
1887. Fowler, Princ. Mor., II. ii. 97. Kindness may be defined as a disposition to confer benefits, courtesy as a disposition to waive rights.
1891. G. W. Russell, Gladstone, xi. 280. A most engaging quality of Mr. Gladstone’s character is his courtesy.
† b. To stand to or at the courtesy (of): to depend or be dependent upon the indulgence, favor or kindness of; similarly to leave to, be at the courtesy (of). Obs.
1538. Starkey, England, I. iv. 111. Some prouysyon for the second bretherne … and not to leue them bare to the only curtesy of theyr eldyst brother.
1586. T. B., La Primaud. Fr. Acad., I. (1594), 143. It is better … to stand at the curtesy of crowes than of flatterers.
1611. Bible, Ecclus. xxxiii. 21. For better it is that thy children should seeke to thee, then that thou shouldst stand to their courtesie.
1654. Burton’s Diary (1828), I. Introd. 64. That did place the legislative power absolutely in the Parliament, and left it at courtesy, whether the Parliament would after concede any negatives to him.
1722. De Foe, Col. Jack (1840), 43. We always let a raw brother come in for a full share to encourage him, but afterward … he stands to courtesy.
1731. Medley, Kolben’s Cape G. Hope, I. 300. The younger sons of a Hottentot … are at the courtesie of the eldest both for their fortunes and liberty.
3. Of, by († at) courtesy: by favor or indulgence; by common good will or allowance, as distinguished from inherent or legal right.
1587. Harrison, England, II. v. (1877), I. 115. His [a knight’s] wife also of courtesie so long as she liueth is called my ladie.
1589. Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, I. xxx. (Arb.), 72. March paines and such other dainty meates as by the curtesie and custome euery gest might carry from a common feast home with him to his owne house.
1622. Bacon, Hen. VII., 4. If he relied upon that Title he could be but a King at Curtesie.
1647. H. More, Song of Soul, II. ii. II. xxi. It has no unity Therewith, but onely doth of cur’sy lend It life.
1661. Bramhall, Just Vind., iv. 58. The popes in latter times had some power in England, of courtesy, not of Duty.
1706–43. Chamberlayne, St. Gt. Brit., 165. Only of Courtesy the Title of Lord is given to all the Sons of Dukes and Marquisses, and to the Eldest Sons of Earls.
1802. Mar. Edgeworth, Moral T. (1816), I. xx. 185. One … who calls himself (by curtesy) Your humble servant.
1841. Macaulay, W. Hastings, Ess. (1854), II. 657/1. By the courtesy of the House, a member who has been thanked in his place is considered as having a right always to occupy that place.
b. Hence Courtesy title: a title of no legal validity given by social custom or courtesy; esp. applied to the territorial titles given to the eldest sons of earls and peers of higher rank, the prefix Lord or Lady to the names of the younger sons and the daughters of dukes and marquises, and of Honourable to the children of Viscounts and Barons. So also courtesy rank, etc. Also transf.
1844. Stanley, Arnold (1858), I. iii. 91. The courtesy rank which they had acquired already.
1865. E. Lucas, in Ess. Relig. & Lit. (ed. Manning), 361. A sort of courtesy-title, allowed to some aggregation of men who profess to belong to the One Society, but who do not in reality belong to it.
1887. Daily News, 7 Sept., 6/3. The deceased … is succeeded in the courtesy title by his brother.
1889. Whitaker’s Alm., 660 (heading), Titles of Courtesy borne by Eldest sons of Dukes, [etc.].
4. Law. A tenure by which a husband, after his wife’s death, holds certain kinds of property which she has inherited, the conditions varying with the nature of the property. More fully called Courtesy (Curtesy) of England or of Scotland.
The most common instance is that in which the husband holds for life estates of which the wife in her lifetime has been seised in fee-simple or fee-tail, provided there has been lawful issue of the marriage able to inherit.
1523. Fitzherb., Surv., 12. Tenauntes by the curtesy, tenauntes in dower.
1531. Dial. on Laws Eng., I. vii. (1638), 14. To hold as tenant by the curtesie of England. Ibid., II. xv. 84. No man shall be tenant by the curtesie of Land, without his wife have possession in deed.
1609. Skene, Reg. Maj., Table 73. Curtesie of Scotland, is quhen ane man mareis ane heretrice of lands: procreates vpon hir ane quick barne, maill, or female: And it happens the woman onlie, or beath the woman and the bairne, to deceise.
1641. Termes de la Ley, 98 b.
1741. T. Robinson, Gavelkind, iv. 42. The Husband shall be Tenant by the Curtesy of a Moiety.
1754. Erskine, Princ. Sc. Law (1809), 234. A marriage, though of the longest continuance, gives no right to the courtesy, if there was no issue of it.
1818. Cruise, Digest (ed. 2), I. 158 (heading), Origin of Estates by the Curtesy, and Circumstances required to their Existence … Curtesy in Gavel-kind.
1848. Wharton, Law Lex., 155/1. The wife’s equitable inheritances are subject to courtesy.
1876. Digby, Real Prop., iii. 148. An estate by the curtesy of England.
† b. (See quot.) Obs.
1722. De Foe, Col. Jack (1840), 126. After I had served out the five years’ servitude [having been kidnapped as a slave to Virginia], I should have the courtesy of the country, as they called it, that is a certain quantity of land to cultivate and plant for myself.
5. U.S. Courtesy of the Senate: (a) the custom by which the President of the United States, in making appointments to office, is guided by the wishes of the Senators of the State in which the office is held; (b) the custom by which the nomination of Senators or Ex-senators to an office is confirmed without reference to a committee.
1888. Bryce, Amer. Commw. (1889), I. vi. 57–8. By this system, which obtained the name of the Courtesy of the Senate, the President was practically enslaved as regards appointments. Ibid., 58–9. The ‘Courtesy of the Senate’ would never have attained its present strength but for the growth … of the so-called Spoils System.
6. (with pl.) A courteous act or expression.
c. 1450. Bk. Curtasye, 171, in Babees Bk., 304. Anoþer curtayse y wylle þe teche.
1582. in W. H. Turner, Select. Rec. Oxford, 419. By your greate favoures and curteosies obteynynge the same.
1596. Spenser, F. Q., V. xi. 11. He fiercely gan assay That curt’sie with like kindnesse to repay.
1596. Shaks., Merch. V., I. iii. 129. You call’d me dog: and for these curtesies Ile lend you thus much monies.
1627. J. Ware, in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden), 134. The many curtesies which I received from you at my last being in England.
1702. Rowe, Tamerl., III. i. To have a nauseous Courtesie forc’d on me.
1832. Southey, Penins. War, III. 925. All the courtesies and humanities of generous warfare.
1847. Tennyson, Princess, I. 162. He seem’d to slur With garrulous ease and oily courtesies Our formal compact.
1880. L. Stephen, Pope, iv. 95. Some courtesies even passed between him and the great Sir Robert Walpole.
7. The courteous or ceremonious expression of apology or deprecation: in phrases to make courtesy (at), to make a show of ceremonious deprecation, to scruple; to make no courtesy, to make no ceremony, scruple or ‘bones’ (at or of). Obs.
1542. Udall, Erasm. Apoph. (1877), 69 (D.). Plato refused to doe it … but Aristippus made no courtesie at the matter.
1548. Hall, Chron. (1809), 638. When the Lorde Chamberlaine had tolde this message they [the 2 Ambassadors] rode furth and made no more curtesie.
1579. Tomson, Calvin’s Serm. Tim., 249/2. They that haue any honestie or any shame in them, will make courtesie at it.
1589. Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, III. xxiv. (Arb.), 284. A very great gift, which he made curtesy to accept, saying it was too much for such a mean person.
† 8. The customary expression of respect by action or gesture, esp. to a superior; the action of inclining, bowing or lowering the body; usually in phrase to make or do courtesy. Obs.
1513. Bk. Keruynge, in Babees Bk. (1868), 270. Whan your souerayne is set … make your souerayne curtesy.
1549. Coverdale, Erasm. Par. Phil. 5. In the name of ye same Jesus … euery knee should bowe & make courtesie.
c. 1550. Cheke, Matt. xxiii. 7. Thei … loov … to have curtesi doon to them in the commun places.
1553. Eden, Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.), 25. All suche as wayte on hym, stoupe downe and make lowe courtesie.
1606. Shaks., Tr. & Cr., II. iii. 114. The Elephant hath ioynts, but none for curtesie.
1645. Ussher, Body Div. (1647), 232. Them that make curtesie to the Chancell where the high Altar stood.
9. An obeisance: see CURTSY sb. 2.
† 10. A ‘mannerly’ or moderate quantity; = CURTSY sb. 3. Obs.
1530. Palsgr., 463/2. It is good for your sonne to drinke a courtesye [ung peu] of Malvesye.
1535. Coverdale, 1 Kings xvii. 12. I haue no bred, but an handfull of floure in a pitcher, & a curtesy oyle in a cruse.
1609. Bible (Douay), Gen. xliii. 11. Carie to the man for presents, a courtesie of rosen, and of honey, and of incense.
1627. Treasurie Hidden Secrets, xliv. Take a curtesie of Storax liquida.
† 11. Used like worship, etc., as an ascriptive title.
a. 1631. Donne, Polydoron, 22. Hee that showes store of Money amongst needie persons whets a borrower to cut his Courteosies purse or a Theife to steale it.
12. Comb. † courtesy-morsel, a piece left ‘for manners’ sake’, a ‘manners-bit.’
1613. T. Godwin, Rom. Antiq. (1625), 41. When we see a glutton leave nothing in the platter, not so much as the curtesi-morsell, we say Lari sacrificat.
