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Webster 1913 Edition

Polite

Po-lite′

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Politer
;
sup
erl.
Politest
.]
[L.
politus
, p. p. of
polire
to polish: cf. F.
poli
. See
Polish
,
Verb.
]
1.
Smooth; polished.
[Obs.]
Rays of light falling on a
polite
surface.
Sir I. Newton.
2.
Smooth and refined in behavior or manners; well bred; courteous; complaisant; obliging; civil.
He marries, bows at court, and grows
polite
.
Pope.
3.
Characterized by refinement, or a high degree of finish;
as,
polite
literature
.
Macaulay.
Syn. – Polished; refined; well bred; courteous; affable; urbane; civil; courtly; elegant; genteel.

Po-lite′

,
Verb.
T.
To polish; to refine; to render polite.
[Obs.]
Ray.

Webster 1828 Edition

Polite

POLI'TE

,
Adj.
[L. politus, polished, from polio, supra.]
1.
Literally, smooth, glossy, and used in this sense till within a century.
Rays of light falling on a polite surface.
[This application of the word is, I believe, entirely obsolete.]
2.
Being polished or elegant in manners; refined in behavior; well bred.
He marries, bows at court and grows polite.
3.
Courteous; complaisant; obliging.
His manners were warm without insincerity, and polite without pomp.

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