Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Refined; sophisticated.
  • noun Refinement; sophistication.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Knew; was able: an obsolete form of could.
  • Known; well-known; usual; customary: an obsolete past participle of can.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • imperative, past participle obsolete Could; was able; knew or known; understood.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective obsolete known, renowned
  • verb Past participle of can
  • adjective Marked by or possessing a high degree of sophistication; cultured, refined.
  • noun Social grace, sophistication; manners; refinement.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (used facetiously) refined

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Back-formation from uncouth.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English couth, doublet of could; from Old English cūþ ("known, plain, manifest, certain, well known, usual, noted, excellent, famous, intimate, familiar, friendly, related"), from Proto-Germanic *kunþaz (“known”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵen-, *ǵno- (“to know”). Cognate with Scots couth ("known, familiar"), Eastern Frisian cut ("known"), Dutch kond ("known"), German kund ("known"), Icelandic kuðr, kunnur ("known"), Gothic 𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (kunþs, "known").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Back-formation from uncouth.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Not that I get to say this word a lot, but mentally need to remind myself not to pronounce it cout like Alice Cooper.

    January 12, 2020