different between couth vs genteel

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ku??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ku?/
• Rhymes: -u??

Etymology 1

From Middle English c?uth (“familiar, known; evident, true; famous, respected, well-known; genteel, having good manners”), from Old English c?þ (“familiar, intimate, known, usual; certain, plain, manifest; famous, noted, well-known; excellent; friendly; related”), past participle of cunnan (“to be familiar with, know; can, to be able, know how”), from Proto-Germanic *kunnan? (“to be familiar with, know, recognize; to be able, know how”) (compare *kunþaz (“known”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *?neh?- (“to know”). The word is cognate with Dutch kond (“known”), Saterland Frisian cut (“known”), Gothic ???????????????????? (kunþs, “known”), Icelandic kuðr, kunnur (“known”), Latin gnosco (“to know”), Old High German kund, chund, chunt, Middle High German kunt (modern German kund (“known”)), Old Saxon k?th, cûth, cuð (“known; famous, renowned”), Scots couth (“familiar, known”); and is a doublet of could.

Adjective

couth (comparative more couth, superlative most couth)

1. (obsolete) Familiar, known; well-known, renowned.

   Antonym: (obsolete) uncouth
2. (Scotland) Variant of couthie.
   1. Agreeable, friendly, pleasant.
   2. Comfortable; cosy, snug.

Related terms

Translations

Verb

couth

1. (obsolete except in adjective use) past participle of can

Etymology 2

Back-formation from uncouth.

Adjective

couth (comparative more couth, superlative most couth)

1. Marked by or possessing a high degree of sophistication; cultured, refined.

   Antonym: uncouth

Translations

Noun

couth (usually uncountable, plural couths)

1. Social grace, refinement, sophistication; etiquette, manners.
2. (rare) A person with social graces; a refined or sophisticated person.

Translations

References

Anagrams

• chout, touch

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French gentil (“gentile”), from Latin gent?lis (“of or belonging to the same people or nation”), from g?ns (“clan; tribe; people, family”) + adjective suffix -?lis (“-ile”). Doublet of gentle and gentile. See also gens, gender, genus, and generation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??n?ti?l/

Adjective

genteel (comparative more genteel, superlative most genteel)

1. Affectedly proper or refined; somewhat prudish refinement; excessively polite.
   • 1975, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift [Avon ed., 1976, p. 407]:

     Genteel America was handicapped by meagerness of soul, thinness of temper, paucity of talent.

2. Polite and well-mannered.
3. Stylish or elegant.
4. Aristocratic

Derived terms

• genteelism
• genteelly

Related terms

• gentleman

Translations

Anagrams

• genelet