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Glite Dictionary
couthy

couthy

1 9.9
Warm and friendly in a calm, welcoming way
  • adjective
  • UK
: acogedor
  • The innkeeper greeted us with a couthy smile, making us feel instantly at home.

Examples

  • They enjoyed a couthy chat beside the fire after supper.

  • The couthy atmosphere of the café made everyone feel welcome.

  • Her couthy manner put everyone at ease during the lively evening.

  • My grandmother always had a couthy way of speaking.

  • The innkeeper greeted us with a couthy smile, making us feel instantly at home.

  • Her couthy manner put everyone at ease during the lively evening.

  • They enjoyed a couthy chat beside the fire after supper.

Synonyms

sociable
vscouthy
20 1.6

Enjoying being with other people and making friends

focuses on friendly approachability and warm familiarity rather than just outgoingness
hearty
vscouthy
16 3.7

Warm and sincere when showing friendship or welcome

is friendly in a gentle, familiar way rather than strongly enthusiastic
hail-fellow-well-met
vscouthy
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Being friendly and cheerful when meeting people, sometimes too familiar

is warm and genial without the sometimes excessive familiarity

How Friendly

affectionate
49 2.2
warm
321 1.0
couthy
  • UK
1 9.9
friendly
763 1.0
reserved
29 3.7
aloof
33 6.3

Surface Forms

couthy positive

Morphology

couthy = couth (semi-transparent) = couth + y

Formed by regular suffixation of '-y' to the Scots adjective 'couth'; the meaning is predictable if a learner knows 'couth', but 'couth' is dialectal/rare for most learners.

Etymology

Couthy comes from the Scots word couth, meaning 'known' or 'familiar', and is the opposite of the English uncouth. So, to be couthy is to be warm, friendly and easy to be with, like an old friend.