How Will You Define Etiquette?

Etiquette is a system of rules and regulations defining good form or "good manner" in social, public or official behaviour. It originally applied only to conduct in court circles, but the code has been extended to provide guides for every day living.

The word "etiquette" is derived from the old French "estiquer", and that, in turn, from the old German "stechen", both of which are verbs meaning "to stick" or "affix", some etymologists conjecture that centuries ago regulations to be observed at court, (or, possibly, in a barracky) were pasted or stuck to a support or wall and eventually became "etiquette" (the rules of the day), whence "etiquette".

In France to-day, however, the code of polite, social conduct is generally termed the rules of knowing how to behave. In English speaking countries, such rules, whether they are guides for ceremonies or deal with ordinary social conventions such as setting a table, .are generally classified as etiquette.

Etiquette is the glass of basic rules of politeness, but it is influenced by local or regional customs. For example etiquette requires that an honoured guest be placed next to the host or hostess and custom dictates what side that shell is. In most of the western world it is the right side but in Scandinavian countries it is usually the left side.