Definition of "genteelism" []

• A word or expression thought by its user to be more refined than another, as in expectorate for spit. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Thus, a British visitor to the United States, Thomas C. Grattan, felt it necessary to translate the genteelism for readers of his Civilized America 1872: "And some of them would scarcely hesitate to ask for the breast of a chicken, though almost all call it 'white meat,' in contradistinction to the 'dark meat,' as all ladies and gentlemen designate the legs of poultry.""
• "If you're going to call bs on the senate, well lets level the playing field and treat our language for what it is, and exclude the phony formalities of genteelism."
• "Tomlinson and all his Middleberg VA horsefarm phony genteelism–funny how quick these guys are to make lots of money off their government connections…."