different between polite vs polity

English

Etymology

From Latin pol?tus (“polished”), past participle of poli? (“I polish, smooth”); see polish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??la?t/

Adjective

polite (comparative politer or more polite, superlative politest or most polite)

1. Well-mannered, civilized.
   • 1733, Alexander Pope, Epistle to Bathurst

     He marries, bows at court, and grows polite.

2. (obsolete) Smooth, polished, burnished.

   • rays of light […] falling on […] a polite surface

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:polite

Antonyms

• impolite
• rude

Derived terms

• over-polite
• politeness
• polite literature
• polite society

Related terms

• polish

Translations

Verb

polite (third-person singular simple present polites, present participle politing, simple past and past participle polited)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To polish; to refine; to render polite.

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “polite”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN

Further reading

• polite in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• polite in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• piolet, topile

Italian

Adjective

polite f pl

1. feminine plural of polito

Anagrams

• pilote

Latin

Verb

pol?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of poli?

References

• polite in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• polite in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

English

Etymology

From Middle French politie, from Latin politia (circa. 1530s C.E.), from Ancient Greek ???????? (politeía, “polity, policy, the state”). Doublet of policy and police.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p?.l?.t?/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /?p?.l?.ti/

Noun

polity (plural polities)

1. (politics) An organizational structure of the government of a state, church, etc.
2. (political science) A politically organized unit; a state.

   Different nations have different forms of polities, from provinces and states to territories and municipalities.

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• polity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• polity in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.