gentleman

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

English

Etymology

From Middle English gentilman, morphologically gentle +‎ man, partial calque of Old French gentilhome.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/
• (General American) IPA^(key): [ˈd͡ʒɛɾ̃.ɫ̩.mən]
• Hyphenation: gentle‧man
• Homophone: gentlemen

Noun

gentleman (plural gentlemen)

1. (chiefly historical) A man of gentle but not noble birth, particularly a man of means (originally ownership of property) who does not work for a living but has no official status in a peerage; (UK law) an armiferous man ranking below a knight.
2. Any well-bred, well-mannered, or charming man.
3. (derogatory) An effeminate or oversophisticated man.

   Synonyms: cockney, puss-gentleman, sissy; see also Thesaurus:effeminate man

4. (polite term of address) Any man.

   Synonym: sahib

   Coordinate terms: lady, gentlewoman, (historical) gentlelady

5. (usually historical, sometimes derogatory) An amateur or dabbler in any field, particularly those of independent means.

   Synonym: dilettante
6. (cricket) An amateur player, particularly one whose wealth permits him to forego payment.

   Coordinate terms: professional, (historical) player

Usage notes

• Although gentleman is used in reference to a man and gentlemen is used as a polite form of address to a group of men, it is more common to directly address a single gentleman as sir.
• The singular possesive of the sense "any well-bred, well-mannered, or charming man" can appear in ad hoc compounds to describe a polite way of doing something; e.g. a "gentleman's sweep" when a dominant basketball team allowed the opponent one win in a series[1].

Derived terms

Related terms

• gentlewoman
• gentlelady

Descendants

• Chinese Pidgin English: gentleman
• → Danish: gentleman
• → Esperanto: ĝentlemano
• → French: gentleman
• → Russian: джентльмен (džentlʹmen)
  • → Armenian: ջենտլմեն (ǰentlmen)
  • → Georgian: ჯენტლმენი (ǯenṭlmeni)
• → Mohegan-Pequot: gundermon
• → Polish: dżentelmen
• → Portuguese: gentleman
• → Spanish: gentleman
• → Yiddish: דזשענטעלמען (dzhentelmen)

Translations

Chinese

Etymology

From English gentleman.

Pronunciation

Adjective

gentleman

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) gentlemanlike

See also

• man

Chinese Pidgin English

Alternative forms

• 毡地文 (Chinese spelling)

Etymology

From English gentleman.

Noun

gentleman

1. A respectful term for a person of either sex: gentleman, lady

   • 希郎温毡^{[sic – meaning ⿰口毡]}地文'託其
     *hi¹ long⁴ wan¹ zhin¹[zhen¹] di⁶ man⁴ tok³ ki⁴
     He long one gentleman talkee.
     He is talking with a gentleman.

References

• Gow, W. S. P. (1924) Gow’s Guide to Shanghai, 1924: A Complete, Concise and Accurate Handbook of the City and District, Especially Compiled for the Use of Tourists and Commercial Visitors to the Far East, Shanghai, page 105: “Gentleman: does not always indicate the male sex. e.g. “outside have got two piece gentleman, one belong missee.” (Lunde.)”

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English gentleman.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʒɛn.tlə.man/

Noun

gentleman m (plural gentlemen or gentlemans)

1. gentleman, especially an anglophone one

Further reading

• “gentleman”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• mélangent

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English gentleman.

Noun

gentleman m (plural gentlemeni)

1. gentleman

Declension

Spanish

Noun

gentleman m (plural gentlémanes)

1. British gentleman

Further reading

• “gentleman”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English gentleman.

Noun

gentleman c

1. a gentleman (refined, well-mannered man)

   Synonym: (plural, humorous) hängslemän

Declension

Derived terms

• gentlemannamässig

See also

• herre

References

• gentleman in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• gentleman in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• gentleman in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English gentilman.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɛntlˈman/

Noun

gentleman

1. gentleman

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 126