comity

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The Word of the Day for July 4 is:

comity   \KAH-muh-tee\   noun 
     1 *a : friendly social atmosphere : social harmony  b : a 
loose widespread community based on common social institutions  
c : comity of nations 
     2 : avoidance of proselytizing members of another religious 
denomination 

Example sentence: 
     "A proper system of government, ... if it be founded in 
reason and comity, will be more likely to nourish in the minds 
of our youth the combined spirit of order and self-respect." 
(Thomas Jefferson, "Report of the Commissioners for the 
University of Virginia," August 4, 1818) 

Did you know? 
     "Our country soweth also in the field of our breasts many 
precious seeds, as ... honest behavior, affability, comity," 
wrote English clergyman Thomas Becon in 1543. Becon's use is the 
earliest documented appearance of "comity" -- a word derived 
from the Latin "comitas," meaning "courteousness" (and probably 
related to the Sanskrit word for "he smiles"). "Comity" is 
largely used in political and judicial contexts. Since 
1862 "comity of nations" has referred to countries bound by a 
courteous relationship based on mutual recognition of executive, 
legislative, and judicial acts. And, in legal contexts, "comity" 
refers to the recognition by courts of one jurisdiction of the 
laws and judicial decisions of another.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.