gentilize 
gentilize (jen'ti-llz), . ; pret. and pp. gentilizeil, 
ppr. geutilizing. [Formerly also gentleize; < 
gentil (now gentle) or gentile + -ize. Cf. genteel- 
ize~\ I. rais. To render gentle, polite, or 
fentlemanly; raise to the rank of gentlemen. 
Bare.] 
Dissembling breakers, made of all deceipts, 
Who falsifle your measures and your weights 
T' inrich your seines, and your ynthrifty Sons 
To gentilize with proud possessions. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 3. 
Religion is the most gentlemanly thing in the world. 
It alone will gentilize, if unmixed with cant. Coleridge. 
II. intrans. 1. To live like a gentile, or like 
a heathen. 
God's known Denouncement against the gentUizing Is- 
raelites, who, though they were govern'd in a Common- 
wealth of God's own ordaining, he only thir King, they his 
peculiar People, yet . . . clamour'd for a King. 
Milton, Free Commonwealth. 
2t. To play the gentleman. Norden, Survey- 
or's Dialogue (1608). 
gentillyt, adv. See gently. Chaucer. 
gentiopicrin (jen"ti-6-pik'rin), n. [< genti(an) 
+ GT. mi(p6f, bitter.] The bitter principle of 
gentian (CooHsoOuj), a neutral body crystalliz- 
ing in colorless needles which are freely soluble 
in water. U. S. Dispensatory. 
gentisic (jen-tis'ik), a. Pertaining to or de- 
rived from gentian: as, gentisic acid. Encyc. 
Brit. 
gentle (jen'tl), a. and n. [Early mod. E. also 
jentle; < ME. gentel, gentell, gentil, gentyl, gen- 
tile, gentille, also with initial j, jentille, jentylle, 
sometimes jantail (of. mod. jaunty, janty), of 
noble or good birth, noble, comely, gentle, etc., 
< OF. gentil, of noble or good birth, gentle, gra- 
cious, kind, pretty, etc., P. gentil, pretty, noble, 
= Pr. Sp. Pg. gentil = It. gentile, noble, gen- 
teel, polite, humane, pretty, etc., < L. gentilis, 
of or belonging to the same clan or gens, also 
foreign (see gentile), ML. of noble or good birth, 
noble, etc., < L. gen(t-)s, a race, family, clan: 
see gens. The L. gentilis appears in E. in many 
different forms, namely, gentle, genteel, gentile, 
and abbr. gent, genty, jaunty, janty, etc.: see 
these forms.] I. a. 1. Of good birth or fami- 
ly; well-born; specifically, belonging to the 
gentry as distinguished from the nobility: as, 
the studies of noble and gentle youth. 
Kynge Brangore hadde a gentill lady to his wif, that 
was doughter to kynge Adryan, the Eraperour of Con- 
stantynenohle, that was myghty and riche. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 186. 
Clerk-like, experienc d, which no less adorns 
Our gentry than our parents' noble names, 
In whose success we are gentle. Shak., W. T., i 2. 
I am as gentle as yourself, as freeborn. 
Fletcher (and another), Love's Pilgrimage, ii. 1. 
2. Pertaining to or characteristic of good birth 
or station; honorable; respectable; refined. 
Gentille of nvrtnre, & noble of lynage, 
Was non that bare armure, that did suilk vassalage. 
Rot. ofBrtmne, p. 188. 
A hedge-born swain 
That doth presume to boast of gentle blood. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., iv. 1. 
3. Of well-bred character or quality; gracious; 
courteous ; kindly and considerate ; not rough 
or harsh; mild; soothing: as, a gentle nurse; 
a gentle nature, manner, voice. 
Sir Gaweiu seide that he hadde well devised, and that 
of qentell herte meved this purpos. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 613. 
The qentle ininde by gentle deeds is knowne. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. Iii. 1. 
It argues an attractive and gentle nature in him [Aske], 
that his serving-man died of grief when he was arrested. 
R. W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng.,vii. 
4. Tame ; docile ; tractable ; peaceable ; not 
wild or refractory: as, a gentle horse or hawk. 
The ruffians . . . took 
And bore him to the naked hall of Doorm 
(His gentle charger following him unled). 
Tennyson, Geraint. 
5f. Improved by cultivation ; ameliorated; do- 
mesticated. 
If thou wilt take of a gentil tree 
Not wilde atte alle withoute asperitee, 
When it is two yere olde or III., to thrive, 
Goode is to sette it. 
Palladia*, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 86. 
6. Soft; mild in action, performance, or use; 
not rude or boisterous : as, a gentle breeze ; a 
gentle tap ; a gentle tone. 
The quality of mercy is not strain'd ; 
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 
Upon the place beneath. Shak., M. of V., Iv. 1. 
The path of the gentle winds is seen, 
Where the small waves dance, and the young woods lean. 
Bryant, Song of the Stars. 
2490 
7f. Refreshing; reviving. 
There growethe fulle gode Wyn, that men clepen Bigon, 
that is fulle myghty and gentylle in drynkynge. 
Mandemlle, Travels, p. 209. 
8. Gradual ; easy ; not steep ; moderate in de- 
gree; not sharply defined: as, a gentle slope; 
the gentle curves of a river or a figure. 
At certain places the inclination changes from a gentler 
to a steeper slope. Tyndall, Forms of Water, p. 105. 
Shoreward, sometimes in terraces, often with inclines 
so gentle as hardly to be traced, the trim lawns steal softly 
to the river's bank. Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 167. 
Gentle falcon. Same as falcon-gentle. Gentle reader, 
courteous, considerate reader : a phrase common until re- 
cently especially in the prefaces of books. 
Receive thankfully, gentle reader, these sermons faith- 
fully collected, without any sinister suspicion of anything 
in the same being added or adempt. 
Latimer, Sermons (1549), Pref. 
The gentle craft, a descriptive phrase used specifically 
for shoemaking and (after Izaak Walton) for angling. 
Marry, because you have drunk with the King, 
And the King hath so graciously pledged you, 
You shall no more be called shoemakers ; 
But you and yours, to the world's end, 
Shall be called the trade of the gentle craft. 
Greene, George-a-Greene (1509). 
And since that, one of the gentle craft, who took me in- 
finitely for the excellent guift he had in tickling a lady's 
heel. The Wizard (MS. Play, 1640). 
He [Venator] agrees to accompany Piscator in his sport, 
adopts him as his master and guide, and in time becomes 
initiated into the practice and mysteries of the gentle craft. 
Chambers, Cyc. of Eng. Lit., Izaak Walton. 
The gentle (or gentler) sex, women collectively; wo- 
mankind: opposed to the sterner sex. =Syn. 3 and 4. Gen- 
tle, Meek, Bland, Soft, Tame, Mild; placid, dovelike, quiet, 
peaceful, pacific, moderate, clement, lenient, merciful, 
kind, Indulgent ; tractable, docile. Of the first six words, 
meek applies only to personal character and behavior ; it 
is wholly good in the Bible, and now indicates a defect of 
character only occasionally by hyperbole. The others may 
be either physical or moral. The meaning of lilniul is 
founded upon the pleasant feeling of warm breezes, etc. ; 
it suggests a peculiarly soothing impression, as a bland 
demeanor, or an artful endeavor to make such an impres- 
sion. Soft suggests that which yields somewhat upon 
physical contact, and hence anything not making firm re- 
sistance or striking hard. As to animals, gentle refers to 
nature, being opposed to rough or fierce, while tame is 
opposed to "//./. and refers to familiarity with man : as, a 
'"//" duck. 'I'n in- is used in a bad sense of spirit and of 
intellectual productions: as, a tame spirit; some very 
tame remarks. Mild goes further than gentle in express- 
ing softness of nature ; it is chiefly a word of nature or 
character, while gentle is chiefly a word of action. MM 
is sometimes opposed to acrid, tart, etc. 
He [Roger Williams] does not show himself a very 
strong or very wise man, but a thoroughly gentle and good 
one. Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 246. 
Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. 
Mat. v. 5. 
As mirk as the man Moses, and withal 
As bold as in Agrippa's presence Paul. 
Cowper, Expostulation, 1. 444. 
Wherefore cannot I be 
Like things of the season gay, like the bountiful season 
bland? Tennyson, Maud, iv. 
A soft answer turneth away wrath. Prov. iv. 1. 
The historian himself, tame and creeping as he is in his 
ordinary style, warms in sympathy with the Emperor 
[Csesar]. De Quincey, Philos. of Rom. Hist. 
My mother was as mild as any saint, 
Half-canonized by all that look'd on her. 
Tennyson, Princess, i. 
II. n. 1. A person of good family; a per- 
son of gentle birth; a gentleman. [Obsolete 
or poetical.] 
Art thou a Gentle > Hue with gentle friendes. 
Gascoigne, Steele Glas (ed. Arber), p. 67. 
How does my father? Gentles, methinks you frown. 
Shak., 1 !'. of the S., iii. 2. 
Come in your war array, 
Gentles and Commons ! 
ScoW, Pibroch of Donald Dhu. 
2. In falconry, a falcon-gentle ; a trained 
hawk: whence one of the names of the com- 
mon goshawk of Europe, Falco gentilis. 
O, for a falconer's voice, 
To lure this t&iael-gentle back again ! 
Shot., R. and J., ii. 2. 
3. A maggot or larva of the flesh-fly, used in 
fishing. 
Blood worms and snails, or crawling gentles small. 
John Dennys (Arber's Eng. Garner), I. 173. 
Gentles, which are grubs hatched in meat that has been 
fly-blown, are a favorite bait in Europe ; but, in spite of 
their beautiful name, are horrible objects, and not in vogue 
with us. R. B. Roosevelt, Game Fish (1884), p. 33. 
gentle (jen'tl), v. t. ; pret. and pp. gentled, ppr. 
gentling. [< gentle, a.] It. To make or con- 
stitute gentle, or as if gentle; place in the 
rank of gentlemen ; raise from a vulgar or ig- 
noble condition. 
Be he ne'er so vile. 
This day shall gentle his condition. 
Shak., Hen. V., iv. 3. 
gentleman 
And all this raking toyle, and carke and care, 
Is for his clownish first borne sonne and heyre, 
Who must be gentled by his ill got pelfe ; 
Though he, to get it, got the divell himselfe. 
John Taylor, Works (1630). 
2. To make gentle in manner or appearance ; 
render mild and amiable ; soften ; subdue : as, 
to gentle a colt. 
There is a look of gentled, perhaps we should say broken, 
feeling. Bushnell, Hours at Home, V. 390. 
gentlefolk (jen'tl-fok), . [< gentle, of good 
birth, + folk.] Persons of good breeding and 
family: a collective noun, with plural sense, 
and now generally with plural termination, 
gentlefolks. 
The queen's kindred are made gentlefolks. 
&hak., Rich. III., i. 1. 
ith the best fam- 
, as visited 
by all who claimed the rank of gentlefolks. 
V. Knox, Essays, clxvi. 
This appearance placed me on a level with the 
ilk's in the neighbourhood, and accordingly I wa 
gentle-hearted (jen'tl-har'ted), a. Having a 
kind heart ; of mild disposition ; kind. 
dif. Here 's for my oath, here 's for my father's death. 
Q. Mar. And here s to right our gentle-hearted king. 
SAafc.,3Hen. VI., i. 4. 
gentlehood (jen'tl-hud), . [< gentle + -hood."] 
Good breeding; the state of being of good 
birth. [Rare.] 
The refinement, . . . the gentlehood [of Mrs. Carlyle]. 
Congregationalist, Aug. 5, 1886. 
gentleman (jen'tl -man), n.; pi. gentlemen 
(-men). [< ME. gentilnian, gentylman,jentilmrtn, 
jiiittitman, etc., < gentil, gentle, i. e., of good or 
noble family, + man, after OF. gentilhomme, F. 
gentilhomme = Sp. gentil hombre = Pg. gentilho- 
mem = It. gentiluomo, < ML. gentilis homo, a 
gentleman: L. gentilis, of good family; homo 
(> F. homme = Sp. hombre = Pg. homem = It. 
uomo), a man.] 1. A man of good family; a 
man of good or gentle birth ; in England, spe- 
cifically, any man above the social rank of 
yeoman, including noblemen; in a more limited 
sense, a man who without a title bears a coat 
of arms, or whose ancestors have been free- 
men; one of the class holding a middle rank 
between the nobility and yeomanry. 
Ryght noble prince, this Icntilman present 
To yow is come ferre out of his centre, 
A dukes sone of Greke born by disente, 
Here in your court desireng for to be. 
Generydes (E. E. T. S.), 1. 400. 
Gentlemen be those whom their race and bloud, or at 
the least their vertues, do make noble and knowne. 
Holinehed, Descrip. of England, v. 
In the province of Ulster, Archbishop Synge assures us 
that there were not in his time more than forty Protestant 
Dissenters of the rank of gentlemen. 
Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., vii. 
Early in the llth century the order of gentlemen as a 
separate class seems to be forming as something new. By 
the time of the conquest of England the distinction seems 
to have been fully established. 
E. A. Freeman, Encyc. Brit., XVII. 540. 
2. In a loose sense, any man whose breeding, 
education, occupation, or income raises him 
above menial service or an ordinary trade. 
I have land and money, my friends left me well, and I 
will be a gentleman whatsoeuer it cost me_. 
B. Joitson, Every Man out of his Humour, i. 2. 
3. A man of good breeding, courtesy, and kind- 
ness ; hence, a man distinguished for fine sense 
of honor, strict regard for his obligations, and 
consideration for the rights and feelings of oth- 
ers. 
Bare the so thow haue no blame ; 
Than men wylle say therafter 
That a nentylleman was heere. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 22. 
In tho dayes gentilinen were so trewe that thei wolde 
rather lese theire lif than be for-sworn. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 687. 
For what, I pray, is a gentleman, what properties hath 
he, what qualities are characteristical or peculiar to him, 
whereby he is distinguished from others and raised above 
the vulgar? are they not especially two, courage and 
courtesie? Barrow, Works, III. xxi. 
The appellation of gentleman is never to be affixed to 
a man's circumstances, but to his behaviour in them. 
Steele, Tatler, No. 207. 
If at this day the gentleman is the creation rather of 
culture than of Christianity, that is because it is easier to 
conform to a conventional standard of good taste than to 
an inward law. H. N. Oxenham, Short Studies, p. 236. 
The gentleman is a man of truth, lord of his own actions, 
and expressing that lordship in his behaviour. 
Emerson, Manners. 
4. As a polite form of speech, a man in gen- 
eral ; any man, but particularly, where discrim- 
ination is used, any man of respectable appear- 
ance or good manners ; in the plural, a form of 
address to a company of men, or to all the men 
