comity

English

Etymology

From Late Middle English comite (“association”), from Latin cōmitās.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɒmɪti/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

  • Audio (General American):

    (file)

• Homophone: comedy (t-flapping)

Noun

comity (countable and uncountable, plural comities)

1. Courtesy and considerate behaviour towards others; social harmony.
   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus, published 2010, page 96:

     There, I saw not only flare-ups of ethnic animosity, but the comity that was also possible among men of different backgrounds.

   • 2025 October 4, Maureen Dowd, “When A.I. Came for Hollywood”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     The app [OpenAI's Sora] will further erode truth, and comity.

     (Can we archive this URL?)

2. Friendly understanding and mutual recognition between two entities, especially nations.
   • 2007 January 5, Jonathan Weisman, “Democrats Take Control on Hill”, in The Washington Post‎^[2]:

     Democrats took control of the House and Senate after 12 years of nearly unbroken Republican rule, with resolute calls for bipartisan comity and a pledge to move quickly on an agenda of health care, homeland security, education and energy proposals.

Synonyms

• frith

Derived terms

• incomity

Translations

courtesy and considerate behaviour towards others

• Bulgarian: вежливост (bg) n (vežlivost), учтивост (bg) n (učtivost)
• Czech: zdvořilost (cs) f
• German: respektvoller Umgang m, höfliche Umgangsweise f

friendly understanding and mutual recognition between two entities, especially nations

• German: friedliches Miteinander n, freundschaftliches Zusammenleben n

Anagrams

• myotic