gentle

English Online Dictionary. What means gentle‎? What does gentle mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English gentil (“courteous, noble”), from Old French gentil (“high-born, noble”), from Latin gentilis (“of the same family or clan”), from gens (“[Roman] clan”). Doublet of gentile, genteel, and jaunty.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒɛntl̩/
• (General American) enPR: jĕn′tl, IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩/, [ˈd͡ʒɛ̃ɾ̃l̩]
• Hyphenation: gen‧tle
• Rhymes: -ɛntəl

Adjective

gentle (comparative gentler or more gentle, superlative gentlest or most gentle)

1. Tender and amiable; of a considerate or kindly disposition.

2. Soft and mild rather than hard or severe.

3. Docile and easily managed.

   a gentle horse

4. Gradual rather than steep or sudden.

5. Polite and respectful rather than rude.

6. (archaic) Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble.
   • 1893-1897, Charles Kendall Adams (editor), Johnson's Universal Encyclopedia

     British society is divided into nobility, gentry, and yeomanry, and families are either noble, gentle, or simple.

Synonyms

• (polite): friendly, kind, polite, respectful

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “polite”): rude

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

gentle (third-person singular simple present gentles, present participle gentling, simple past and past participle gentled)

1. (intransitive) To become gentle.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To ennoble.
3. (transitive, animal husbandry) To break; to tame; to domesticate.
4. (transitive) To soothe; to calm; to make gentle.

Noun

gentle (plural gentles)

1. (archaic) A person of high birth.
2. (fishing) A maggot used as bait by anglers.
3. A trained falcon, or falcon-gentil.