pleasantry
English edit
Etymology edit
From pleasant + -ry, probably modelled on Middle French plaisanterie.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
pleasantry (countable and uncountable, plural pleasantries)
- (sometimes proscribed) A casual, courteous remark.
- A playful remark; a jest.
- 2014 November 18, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian[1]:
- Charlie Mulgrew could easily have been shown two yellow cards by a stricter referee and amid all the usual Anglo-Scottish pleasantries, the two sets of fans put an awful lot of effort into trying to drown out one another’s national anthems.
- (dated) Anything that promotes pleasure or merriment.
Usage notes edit
The word originally meant a joke or witticism. It is now generally used to mean only polite conversation in general (as in the phrase "exchange of pleasantries"), which is sometimes proscribed.
Translations edit
courteous remark
|
jest
See also edit
References edit
- ^ “pleasantry, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.