gentleman English · revision 7283

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1200}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[gentle]], in its sense noble, and [[man]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) translating or modelled on Old French gentilz hom (modern French [[m|fr|gentilhomme]]).^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A well-born man, a man of good family: about 1200, perhaps the mid-12th century, in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) before 1275 in the OED.^(OED 1989) It was also used of Roman patricians and Greek aristocrats.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In late Middle English it took specific uses (gentleman-usher, gentleman-at-arms), and in England it often meant any man above the rank of a yeoman, sometimes only one entitled to a coat of arms but without a title.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) From the start it also meant a man whose conduct matched the ideals of chivalry and Christianity (about 1386),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and loosely any man of good breeding, courtesy and honour.^(Etymonline) In the United States, a man of property not in business or a profession is from 1789.^(Etymonline) Eventually, in polite use, it came to mean any man.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a well-born man.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1386 – a chivalrous man.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1425 – a title after a name.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1463 – a gentleman of the royal household.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1789 – a man of property (US).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A courteous, honourable or well-mannered man.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(polite)'' A [[man]]: ''ladies and gentlemen''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(historical)'' A man of good social position, especially one of the landed gentry.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A man of wealth and leisure who does not need to work.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gentlemanly]]

+ * [[gentlemanlike]]

+ * [[gentlemanlikeness]]

+ * [[gent]]

+ * [[gentleman-at-arms]]

+ * [[gentleman-commoner]]

+ * [[gentleman-pensioner]]

+ * [[country gentleman]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gentlewoman]]

+ * [[gentle]]

+ * [[gentry]]

+ * [[genteel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}