Definition of "politesse" [pol•i•tesse]

• Courteous formality; politeness: "the soul of uptown refinement and . . . politesse” ( Russell Baker). (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.

• "Lord Edward at once relieved the squaw of her pack by placing it upon his own shoulders, -- a beautiful instance of what the French call politesse de coeur -- the inbred politeness of the true gentleman."
• "Miss Conduct doesn't usually have occasion to discuss children's literature, it being a realm of impeccable manners and politesse."
• "To Robert Plant he was this absolutely elite gentleman, the master of serenity, as much at home with the backstage cavorting of Led Zeppelin as he was with the politesse of high society. . ."