Politely

How to spell politely

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce politely

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does politely mean?

1. adverbIn a courteous, well-mannered way that shows respect for others.

Politely in a sentence

• She politely declined the second helping at dinner.

• The waiter politely asked whether we needed anything else.

Where does politely come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin politus, the past participle of polire, which literally meant 'to polish' or 'to make smooth'. Over time this physical idea of polishing was applied to people and behaviour, so a 'polished' person became a refined, well-mannered one. English borrowed the adjective 'polite' in the late 1300s with the original sense of 'smoothed' or 'burnished', and by the 1500s it had settled into its modern meaning of courteous and well-bred. The adverb 'politely' simply adds the native English suffix '-ly' to that adjective. A useful spelling reminder is that the same polire root sits behind the everyday word 'polish', which keeps the link between smoothness and good manners visible.

How the word is built

• polit- (from Latin politus: polished, refined)
• -ly (adverb suffix)