a courteous or respectful or considerate act
"He held the elevator door open for her as a courtesy to the elderly woman struggling with her bags."
a courteous or respectful or considerate remark
"She offered him an encouraging word of courtesy to lift his spirits after the interview."
a courteous manner
"He spoke to the new intern with such courtesy that she immediately felt welcome in the team."
Polite behavior.
"The driver honked his horn as a gesture of courtesy to let us merge into traffic safely."
In plain English: Courtesy is being polite and considerate of other people's feelings.
"He held the door open for me as a courtesy."
Usage: Use courtesy to describe polite and considerate actions toward others, such as holding a door or yielding your seat. It refers to the quality of being kind and respectful in social interactions rather than a specific favor granted by someone else.
Alternative form of curtsey
"When she entered the room, she dipped into a graceful bow as a courtesy to greet her grandmother."
In plain English: To show courtesy means to be polite and considerate toward other people.
"He asked her to open the window out of courtesy."
Usage: Do not use "courtesy" as a verb to mean bowing; instead, use the word "curtsy." The verb "courtesy" is nonstandard and should be avoided in everyday writing.
Given or done as a polite gesture.
"He paused to hold the door open for me as a courtesy before rushing back inside."
In plain English: Courtesy describes behavior that is polite and considerate of other people's feelings.
"The hotel provided complimentary breakfast courtesy of its partnership with the local bakery."
Usage: Use courtesy only as an adjective directly before a noun, such as in "courtesy phone call," to describe an action performed as a polite gesture. Do not place it after the noun or use it as a verb, since those forms require different words like "cortesy of" or simply "polite."
The word courtesy comes from the Old French cortoisie, which entered Middle English via Anglo-Norman and retained its original sense of polite behavior. It formed in English by adding the abstract noun suffix -y to the root related to being courteous.