uncouth

Everyday

Rude, rough and without good manners; behaving in a way that is not polite or refined. tree →

In the lessons

A manners word. In stories, a rough character who burps loudly, talks with his mouth full or shouts is called uncouth. In The Wind in the Willows the weasels and stoats are uncouth guests in Toad Hall. It is a judgement about behaviour, not about how rich someone is.

Examples

• It is uncouth to talk with your mouth full. tree →
• The uncouth guests shouted and threw food. tree →
• His uncouth jokes upset the visitors. tree →
• The weasels' uncouth songs echoed round Toad Hall. tree →
• Don't be uncouth — say please. tree →
• She was shocked by his uncouth manners. tree →

Note

Adjective. Say un-KOOTH. The opposite «couth» exists but is rare and jokey.

Early Modern English

Meaning

Unfamiliar, strange, or rough and unpolished in manner or sound. tree →

Then and now

Today it means rude or without good manners. The old sense is "unknown" or "strange," as in "uncouth voice," which is the only sense in the second and third sentences.

Examples

• “Oh! those were uncouth birds,” answered the Parrot. “They had no education, and talked of whatever came into their head. (Andersen's Fairy Tales) tree →
• While watching these changes, the maiden was startled by the sound of an uncouth voice, which seemed to issue from below the self-bored stone, close beside her. (More English Fairy Tales) tree →
• Midas, king of Phrygia, alone demurred at this decision, having the bad taste to prefer the uncouth tones of the Pan's pipe to the refined melodies of Apollo's lyre. (Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome) tree →

Note

Today: strange, rough.