Where does “courteously” come from?
Courteously derives from Middle English -ly added to courteous, which comes from Old English -līċ attached to court from Latin cohors, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm meaning "together."
courteously (English): In a courteous manner; with obliging civility or...
Definitions
- In a courteous manner; with obliging civility or...
Ancestry of “courteously”, step by step
courteously traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English courteous
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | courteous | Showing regard or thought for others; especially,... |
| 2 | Middle English | curteis | noble; courtly |
| 3 | Old French | curteis | Alternative form of cortois |
| 4 | Old French | cort | court |
| 5 | Latin | cōrs | — |
| 6 | Latin | cohors | a court; a farmyard or enclosure; a retinue or... |
| 7 | Latin | co- | allomorph of con- |
| 8 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 9 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 10 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 14 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 15 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 16 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 17 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 18 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 19 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 20 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via Middle English curteisly
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | curteisly | Elegantly, politely; in a refined way |