Most people searching this topic expect a simple “which spelling is correct?” answer. The real answer is slightly more interesting: both spellings are correct, but they are not the same word.
Courtesy is the word you almost certainly want. Curtesy is a separate word from an entirely different field.
Courtesy
Courtesy (pronounced KUR-tuh-see) means polite behavior, a considerate act, or something given as a gesture of goodwill rather than obligation.
It comes from the Old French courtoisie, meaning the refined behavior expected at a royal court. Over time it passed into English and broadened to describe any kind of polite, respectful, or thoughtful conduct.
As a noun:
- She thanked the driver out of common courtesy.
- The hotel offered a courtesy shuttle to the airport.
- He had the courtesy to call before arriving.
As an adjective (meaning provided free or as a gesture of goodwill):
- We were given a courtesy car while ours was being repaired.
- The manager sent a courtesy email to explain the delay.
As part of a phrase:
- Courtesy of means “thanks to” or “provided by.”
- The refreshments were provided courtesy of the local bakery.
This is the everyday word. If you are writing about manners, polite behavior, complimentary services, or respectful gestures, courtesy is correct.
Curtesy
Curtesy (same pronunciation: KUR-tuh-see) is a legal term. It refers specifically to a husband’s right, under old common law, to a life interest in his deceased wife’s real property — provided they had children together who were capable of inheriting.
It is the male equivalent of dower, which was a widow’s right to a portion of her deceased husband’s estate.
Curtesy originated in medieval English property law and was once a significant legal concept. In most modern legal systems it has been abolished or replaced by statutory inheritance laws, though the term still appears in legal history, property law textbooks, and some older statutes.
Example in context:
- The estate lawyer explained that curtesy rights had been abolished in the state decades earlier.
- The treatise discussed dower and curtesy as two pillars of common-law marital property rights.
Outside of legal writing or legal history, the word curtesy almost never appears in ordinary use. Most people writing about polite behavior who accidentally type “curtesy” are simply making a spelling error.
The Confusion about Courtesy vs Curtesy
The confusion is understandable. Both words are pronounced identically, and the spellings are nearly identical. If you are typing quickly, autocorrect may switch one for the other — or fail to catch either, since both are real words.
The key difference is this: curtesy belongs to property law. Courtesy belongs to everyday language.
If your sentence is about manners, kindness, complimentary services, or respectful behavior, the correct word is courtesy.
If your sentence is about a historical or legal concept involving a widower’s inheritance rights, the correct word is curtesy.
This kind of word-level precision — knowing not just the spelling but the meaning behind it — is exactly what Grammar Corrections covers across every article on this site.
Quick Reference for Courtesy vs Curtesy
Getting this distinction right is one part of writing carefully. Another part is choosing the right connecting phrases — words like “such as,” “for example,” and “including” all behave differently, and picking the wrong one quietly changes your meaning.
| Word | Field | Meaning |
| Courtesy | Everyday language | Polite behavior; a considerate or complimentary act |
| Curtesy | Legal / historical | A widower’s common-law right to a life interest in his wife’s real estate |
One More Thing: Curtsy
There is a third related spelling worth mentioning: curtsy (sometimes spelled curtsey).
A curtsy is the gesture of bending the knees with one foot placed behind the other, traditionally performed as a sign of respect — particularly by women or girls greeting royalty or a dignitary.
- She performed a curtsy before the queen.
- The dancer ended her performance with a graceful curtsy.
Curtsy is not the same as either courtesy or curtesy, though all three share a distant etymological connection through the idea of showing respect or deference.
If you were looking for the word describing that physical gesture, curtsy is the correct spelling — not curtesy and not courtesy.
The Practical Answer
In almost every situation, the word you need is courtesy — polite behavior, a considerate gesture, or something provided free of charge as goodwill.
Curtesy is a narrow legal term most readers will never need to use in normal writing.
Curtsy is the physical gesture of respect, bent knees and all.
They sound alike, but they do different jobs. If you’re also looking to vary your sentence connectors, our guide on polite writing alternatives like “although” and “though” explains exactly when each one works — a distinction just as subtle as the one on this page.
The Eddy’s writes clear, practical content about synonyms, alternative words, spelling, and correct word usage. Their goal is to help readers find the right words, improve writing, and communicate with greater confidence through useful, easy-to-understand language guidance.
