noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈɛt.ɪˌkɛt/
/ˈɛt.ɪ.kɪt/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
obsolete:/ˌɛt.ɪˈkɛt/
/ĕt'ĭ-kĕt"
-kĭt/
/et-i-kit
-ket/
CMU ARPABET:EH1 T AH0 K AH0 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The manners or decent behaviour to be observed in social or professional life; conventional decorum; the ceremonial code of polite society.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
20 May 2018, Hadley Freeman in The Guardian, Is Meghan Markle the American the royals have needed all along? Much shock was expressed in the British press about the Palace’s utter failure to control the Markles and the Markles’ lack of etiquette.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The customary behavior of members of a profession, business, law, or sports team towards each other.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A label used to indicate that a letter is to be sent by airmail.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
rules governing socially acceptable behavior
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: rule, prescript
Narrower terms: protocol, punctilio
History
Etymology
1740, from French étiquette (“property, a little piece of paper, or a mark or title, affixed to a bag or bundle, expressing its contents, a label, ticket”), from Middle French estiquette (“ticket, memorandum”), from the Old French verb estechier, estichier, estequier (“to attach, stick”), (compare Picard estiquier (“to stick, pierce”)), from Frankish *stekan, *stikkjan (“to stick, pierce, sting”), from Proto-Germanic *stikaną, *stikōną, *staikijaną (“to be sharp, pierce, prick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp, to stab”). Akin to Old High German stehhan (“to stick, attach, nail”) (German stechen (“to stick”)), Old English stician (“to pierce, stab, be fastened”). The French Court of Louis XIV at Versailles used étiquettes (literally “little cards”) to remind courtiers to keep off of the grass and similar rules. More at stick (verb) and stitch. Doublet of ticket.
Across languages
Translations
107 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
ذَوْق
(ḏawq)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Arabic:
آدَاب
(ʔādāb)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Arabic:
اتيكيت
(ʔetikét)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Armenian:
վարվելակարգ
(varvelakarg)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Armenian:
էտիկետ
(ētiket)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Azerbaijani:
etiket
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Belarusian:
этыке́т
(etykjét)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Bengali:
আদব
(adob)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Bulgarian:
етике́т
(etikét)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Bulgarian:
протоко́л
(protokól)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Catalan:
etiqueta
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Chinese Mandarin:
禮儀 /礼仪
(lǐyí)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Chinese Mandarin:
禮節 /礼节
(lǐjié)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Czech:
etiketa
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Danish:
etikette
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Dutch:
etiquette
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Esperanto:
etiketo
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Estonian:
etikett
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Finnish:
etiketti
— forms to be observed in social or official life
French:
étiquette
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Galician:
etiqueta
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Georgian:
ეტიკეტი
(eṭiḳeṭi)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
German:
Etikette
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Greek:
εθιμοτυπία
(ethimotypía)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Hindi:
शिष्टाचार
(śiṣṭācār)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Hungarian:
etikett
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Ido:
etiqueto
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Indonesian:
etiket
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Irish:
béasaíocht
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Italian:
galateo
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Japanese:
礼儀
(reigi)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Japanese:
作法
(sahō)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Japanese:
エチケット
(echiketto)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Japanese:
マナー
(manā)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Kazakh:
этикет
(étiket)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Korean:
예의
(yeui)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Korean:
례의
(ryeui)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Korean:
예절
(yejeol)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Korean:
례절
(ryejeol)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Korean:
에티켓
(etiket)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Kyrgyz:
этикет
(etiket)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Lao:
ມະຣິຍາດ
(ma ri nyāt)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Lao:
ມັນລະຍາດ
(man la nyāt)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Latvian:
etiķete
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Lithuanian:
etiketas
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Macedonian:
бонтон
(bonton)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Māori:
tikanga
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Māori:
kawa
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Persian:
اتیکت
(etiket)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Persian:
آداب
(âdâb)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Polish:
etykieta
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Polish:
kurtuazja
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Portuguese:
etiqueta
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Romanian:
etichetă
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Russian:
этике́т
(etikét)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Russian:
протоко́л
(protokól)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Serbo-Croatian:
етике́та
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Serbo-Croatian:
etiketa
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Slovak:
etiketa
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Slovene:
bonton
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Spanish:
etiqueta
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Spanish:
reglas de etiqueta
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Swedish:
etikett
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Tajik:
одоб
(odob)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Tajik:
этикет
(etiket)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Thai:
มารยาท
(maa-rá-yâat)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Thai:
จรรยา
(jan-yaa)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Thai:
มรรยาท
(man-yâat)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Turkish:
görgü
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Ottoman Turkish:
تربیه
(terbiye)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Ukrainian:
етике́т
(etykét)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Uzbek:
etiket
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Uzbek:
odob
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Vietnamese:
lễ nghi
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Vietnamese:
nghi lễ
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Welsh:
defod
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Welsh:
moesau
— forms to be observed in social or official life
Yiddish:
עטיקעט
(etiket)
— forms to be observed in social or official life
