urbane

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>urbane</strong> &#149; \er-BAYN\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> notably polite or polished in manner</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"When had my willful and boorish cousin turned into this <em>urbane</em> young artist greeting the guests at her opening reception?" wondered James.</p> <p>"Offstage, he could be sensitive or surly, charming or sometimes combative, an unabashed <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hedonist">hedonist</a> or an <em>urbane</em> aficionado of film, literature and theater." — George Varga, <em>The San Diego Union-Tribune</em>, 6 Jun. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>City slickers and country folk have long debated whether life is better in town or in the wide-open spaces, and <em>urbane</em> is a term that springs from the throes of that debate. In its earliest English uses, <em>urbane</em> was synonymous with its close relative <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/urban">urban</a></em> ("of, relating to, characteristic of, or constituting a city"). Both words come from the Latin adjective <em>urbanus</em> ("urban, urbane"), which in turn is derived from <em>urbs</em>, meaning "city." <em>Urbane</em> developed its modern sense denoting <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/savoir%20faire">savoir faire</a> from the belief (no doubt fostered by city dwellers) that living in the city made one more suave and polished than did leading a rural life.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>