Things Left Behind

Curtis

Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin derived from the Old French curteis (Modern French courtois, surname Courtois) which means "polite, courteous, or well-bred". It is a compound of curt- ″court″ and -eis ″-ish″. The spelling u to render [u] in Old French was mainly Anglo-Norman and Norman, when the spelling o [u] was the usual Parisian French one, Modern French ou [u]. -eis is the Old French suffix for -ois, Western French (including Anglo-Norman) keeps -eis, simplified -is in English. The word court shares the same etymology but retains a Modern French spelling, after the orthography had changed.It was brought to England (and subsequently, the rest of the Isles) via the Norman Conquest. In the United Kingdom, … more »