Couth
/kuːθ/noun
Having good manners, polish, or social grace.
Did you know?Couth is the lost positive twin of uncouth: it comes from an Old English word meaning “known” or “familiar,” while uncouth kept the old sense alive as “strange” or “awkward.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵneh₃-
“to know”
Old English
OE
cūð
“known, familiar, well-known”
Old English
OE
uncūð
“unknown, strange, unfamiliar”
Middle English
EN
couth
“known, familiar; later also refined or well-mannered”
Modern English
EN
couth
“polite, refined, socially polished”