civil often suggests little more than the avoidance of overt rudeness.
owed the questioner a civil reply
polite commonly implies polish of speech and manners and sometimes suggests an absence of cordiality.
if you can't be pleasant, at least be polite
courteous implies more actively considerate or dignified politeness.
clerks who were unfailingly courteous to customers
gallant and chivalrous imply courteous attentiveness especially to women.
gallant suggests spirited and dashing behavior and ornate expressions of courtesy.
a gallant suitor of the old school
chivalrous suggests high-minded and self-sacrificing behavior.
a chivalrous display of duty
Example Sentences
a kind and chivalrous man still engages in chivalrous behavior, such as holding doors for people
Recent Examples on the WebWith the help of chivalrous Anglophile the Marquis de Chassagne (Lambert Wilson), Mrs. Harris gets a front-row showroom seat for the debut of Dior’s 10th anniversary collection. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 July 2022 Depp adjusts a phone cord near Camille Vasquez, his attorney, and the gesture is replayed in slow motion and exalted as a chivalrous deed.New York Times, 26 May 2022 Mendes also shared the love on Instagram, posting his chivalrous red carpet moment. Michelle Lee, PEOPLE.com, 12 May 2022 The Song of Glory tells the story of the chivalrous woman Li Ge and the governor Liu Yikang who after many tribulations, get married, join hands to defend the country, and jointly create a prosperous and peaceful world. William Earl, Variety, 22 Nov. 2021 Like Curthose before him, the generous and chivalrous Stephen lacked the ruthlessness that had enabled Henry I to impose his iron will upon a fickle and self-seeking nobility. Stephen Brumwell, WSJ, 17 Oct. 2021 For those wondering, Xyon Quinn was the unnamed individual who was showing his chivalrous side during a random segment last week. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2021 Like his theatrical clients, Mr. Zarem could deftly switch roles: from the choleric control freak grappling with the last-minute glitches in staging an event to the chivalrous host greeting every guest like a best friend. Sam Roberts, New York Times, 26 Sep. 2021 Gone with the Wind, which, with its portraits of buoyant, slavery-loving enslaved people and chivalrous Confederate officers, won the Pulitzer. Benjamin Nugent, Harper's Magazine, 27 Apr. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English chivalerous, chevalrous, chyvalrous "excelling in warfare, valiant, exemplifying the ideals of chivalry," borrowed from Anglo-French chevalerus, chevalrous (continental Old French chevalerous), from chevalerie "body of knights serving an overlord, chivalry" + -us, -ous-ous
Note: As noted by the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, chivalrous was apparently obsolescent by the mid-eighteenth century; Samuel Johnson, in his dictionary (1755), has only a citation from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1590) and remarks "a word now out of use." It was revived in the later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Romanticism and a renewed interest in the Middle Ages. The pronunciation of this word and chivalry with \sh\ rather than \ch\, as if they were taken from Modern French, presumably arose at that period.