devoirs

British

/ dəˈvwɑː, dəvwar /

plural noun

(sometimes singular) compliments or respects; courteous attentions

"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

Etymology

Origin of devoirs

C13: from Old French: duty, from devoir to be obliged to, owe, from Latin dēbēre; see _debt

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

devoirs

Give him my devoirs and hopes to challenge him to a Bowl when Yon comes off which God kens there seems no hurry.

From Doom Castle by Neil Munro

“No; I was paying my last devoirs to madame.”

From Rambles in the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia with Notices of their History, Antiquities, and Present Condition. by Thomas Forester

"It is to be feared, madam, that such rumors are well founded, but the party who form the forlorn hope have their devoirs also."

From The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. I (of II) by Charles James Lever

The herald then, seeing each champion in his place, uplifted his voice, repeating thrice, Faites vos devoirs, preux chevaliers.

From Coronation Anecdotes by Giles Gossip

He was the spirit of fine courtesy, and would have blushed to fail in his devoirs to any lady; but, in the other scale, he was a man averse from amorous adventures.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 5 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023