urbane
polite
TRANSLATION
urbane = höflich, kultiviert, weltgewandt, weltmännisch, weltläufig; (durch große Erfahrung, gute Bildung) fähig, in jeder Lage souverän aufzutreten, sich angemessen zu benehmen.
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
“Ishihara was smooth, I will say that for him. A tall man, he was URBANE, (except for a habit of nervous blinking). Dressed in a tailored suit he ordered the most expensive wines on the menu. He quoted Balzac and Dostoevsky in preliminary banter. I must confess I quite liked him, which I guess was his goal. Neutralize the opposition.”
By Robert Whiting - Asia Times (3rd February 2022)
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“Philip Johnson was perhaps most at home at his table in the Four Seasons restaurant off Park Avenue, a space of sophistication and great cost created to his designs. He was URBANE, Europhile, plagiaristic, fascinated with the superficial,… sociable, political, an operator both Machiavellian and Mephistophelean. He was a mostly terrible architect, who nonetheless managed to create or assist in some of the most influential buildings of 20th-century America.”
Rowan Moore — The Guardian (24th July 2016)
Did you
know?
urbane
adjective
- confident, comfortable, and polite in social situations
- courteous and refined in manner (typically used of a man)
- notably polite or polished in manner
Cambridge Dictionary, Oxford Languages, Merriam-Webster
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WORD ORIGIN
The word "urbane" has its etymological roots in the Latin word urbānus, which means "of or belonging to a city" and is associated with qualities like being cultivated, polished, refined, and sophisticated. This Latin term comes from urbs, meaning "city" or "walled town”, with possible Proto-Indo-European roots suggesting meanings related to enclosure or encirclement.
The English adjective "urbane" emerged in the 1530s, initially signifying "of or relating to cities or towns”. By the 1620s, it had evolved to describe someone having the manners of townspeople, characterized by being courteous and refined.
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ON BEING URBANE
- "The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him." – William Lyon Phelps
- "A gentleman is simply a patient wolf." - Lana Turner
- "A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't." - Tom Waits
- "A lady is a woman who makes a man behave like a gentleman." - Ingrid Bergman
- "A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out." – George Bernard Shaw
- "A gentleman is a man who can disagree without being disagreeable." – Unknown
- "The truest test of a person’s character is how they treat those who can do nothing for them." – Samuel Johnson
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SYNONYMS
affable, amiable, at ease in any company, august, aura of refinement, bon vivant, charming, civil, civilized, classy, courteous, courtly, cultivated, cultured, dapper, debonair, diplomatic, distinguished, elegant, eloquent, gallant, genteel, gentlemanly, grande dame, homme du monde, imperturbable, ladylike, man of the world, mannerly, mature, of the world, poised, polished, polite, refined, sophisticated, stylish, suave, tactful, URBANE, well-bred, well-mannered, well-read, well-spoken, worldly, worldly-wise
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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:
“An air of URBANE hospitality ensures that every guest feels welcomed and valued.”
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