pleasantry

English

Etymology

From pleasant +‎ -ry, probably modelled on Middle French plaisanterie.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplɛzəntɹi/
• Hyphenation: pleas‧ant‧ry

Noun

pleasantry (countable and uncountable, plural pleasantries)

1. (sometimes proscribed) A casual, courteous remark.
2. 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.

3. (dated) Anything that promotes pleasure or merriment.

Usage notes

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

courteous remark

• Bulgarian: любезност (bg) f (ljubeznost)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 客套的話／客套的话 (kètào de huà), 寒暄的話／寒暄的话 (hánxuān de huà)

• Danish: elskværdighed c
• Finnish: kohteliaisuus (fi), kehu (fi)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: любезность (ru) f (ljubeznostʹ)

jest

• Bulgarian: шега (bg) f (šega), закачка (bg) f (zakačka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 打趣的話／打趣的话 (dǎqù de huà), 閑談的話／闲谈的话 (xiántán de huà)

• Finnish: vitsailu (fi)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• Ottoman Turkish: مزه (meze)
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: шпилька (ru) f (špilʹka)

See also

• small talk