Plural of civility; polite acts, courteous gestures, or conventionally proper behavior in social interactions.
From civility (politeness, courtesy) + -es (plural). Civility derives from Latin civilis meaning 'befitting a citizen.' Became common in English during the Renaissance.
Anthropologists find that every human culture has elaborate systems of 'civilities'—greeting rituals, gift-giving rules, conversation norms—which proves that politeness isn't a marker of 'civilization' but rather a universal human need to smooth social interaction.
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