couth

[ kooth ]

/ kuθ /

Facetious.

Save This Word!

See synonyms for couth on Thesaurus.com

adjective

showing or having good manners or sophistication; smooth: Sending her flowers would be a very couth thing to do.

noun

good manners; refinement: to be lacking in couth.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of couth

First recorded in 1895–1900; back formation from uncouth

Words nearby couth

Cousteau, Cousy, couta, couteau, couter, couth, couthie, coutil, couture, couturier, couturière

Other definitions for couth (2 of 2)

couth²

[ kooth ]

/ kuθ /

adjective Archaic.

known or acquainted with.

Origin of couth

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English cūth, past participle of cunnan “to know”; see know¹, can², could

How to use couth in a sentence

Then longe folk to go on pilgrimages, And palmers for to seeke strange strands To ferne hallows couth in sundry lands.
The Idler Magazine, Volume III, March 1893|Various
For in the flower of his youth, In sondry wise as he well couth, Of ditties and of songes glade The which he for my sake made.
English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English History|Henry Coppee
Here the expression, no good he ne couth means, he was quite feeble and strengthless.
Torrent of Portyngale|Unknown
Al myten o 25 same inges bettere and more plentiuousely be couth 592 in e moue of e poeple at knowe al is.
Chaucer's Translation of Boethius's 'De Consolatione Philosophiae'|Geoffrey Chaucer

Al myten o same inges bettere and more plentiuousely be couth in e moue of e poeple at knowe al is.
Chaucer's Translation of Boethius's 'De Consolatione Philosophiae'|Geoffrey Chaucer

British Dictionary definitions for couth

couth

/ (kuːθ) /

adjective

facetious refined

archaic familiar; known

Word Origin for couth

Old English cūth known, past participle of cunnan to know; sense 1, back formation from uncouth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

couth

Origin of couth

Words nearby couth

Other definitions for couth (2 of 2)

Origin of couth

Words related to couth

How to use couth in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for couth

Word Origin for couth