strain courtesy

verb

To go beyond what courtesy requires; to insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others.

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Meanings

verbstrain courtesy (third-person singular simple present strains courtesy, present participle straining courtesy, simple past and past participle strained courtesy)

present singular third person strains courtesy · participle present straining courtesy · participle past strained courtesy · past strained courtesy

  1. To go beyond what courtesy requires; to insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others.

    my business was great ; and in such a case as mine , a man may strain courtesy

    c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]
Cite this entry
APA

strain courtesy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/strain%20courtesy

MLA

“strain courtesy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/strain%20courtesy. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “strain courtesy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/strain%20courtesy.

Source: strain courtesy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.