Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A man of gentle or noble birth or superior social position: "He's too much a gentleman to be a scholar” ( Aphra Behn).
- n. A well-mannered and considerate man with high standards of proper behavior. See Usage Note at lady.
- n. A man of independent means who does not need to have a wage-paying job.
- n. A man: Do you know this gentleman?
- n. Used as a form of address for a group of men.
- n. A manservant; a valet.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A man of good family; a man of good or gentle birth; in England, specifically, 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 freemen; one of the class holding a middle rank between the nobility and yeomanry.
- n. In a loose sense, any man whose breeding, education, occupation, or income raises him above menial service or an ordinary trade.
- n. A man of good breeding, courtesy, and kindness; hence, a man distinguished for fine sense of honor, strict regard for his obligations, and consideration for the rights and feelings of others.
- n. As a polite form of speech, a man in general; any man, but particularly, where discrimination is used, any man of respectable appearance or good manners; in the plural, a form of address to a company of men, or to all the men in an audience: as, welcome, gentlemen; ladies and gentlemen. This use of gentleman for man, to the neglect of gradation, like that of lady for woman, is often carried to excess, and is to be avoided except where required by the unquestioned rules of politeness. See
lady . - n. The body-servant or personal attendant of a man of rank.
- n. An apparatus used in soldering circular pewter ware. It is a revolving pedestal, adjustable by a side-screw to any height.
- n. [Perhaps an adaptation of another name of the same bird, Jan van Gent.] The white gannet or solan goose, Sula bassana.
- n. An invalid or disabled soldier who made his living by begging.
Wiktionary
- n. A well‐mannered or charming man
- n. A man of breeding or higher class.
- n. A polite term referring to a man.
- n. in plural only A polite form of address to a group of men.
- n. Toilets intended for use by men.
- n. cricket A cricketer of independent wealth, who does not (require to) get paid to play the sport
- n. euphemistic, of a man Amateur.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A man well born; one of good family; one above the condition of a yeoman.
- n. One of gentle or refined manners; a well-bred man.
- n. (Her.) One who bears arms, but has no title.
- n. The servant of a man of rank.
- n. A man, irrespective of condition; -- used esp. in the plural (= citizens; people), in addressing men in popular assemblies, etc.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a manservant who acts as a personal attendant to his employer
- n. a man of refinement
Etymologies
- gentle + man, a calque of French gentilhomme. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“But every gentleman is a _gentleman_ to his _valet_, for the qualities that distinguish the gentleman are every day and every hour manifested.”
“Then William Ions, the express-boy, being shewn to the last witness, St. John, he says, "this is the boy whom I saw sent with one of the two expresses that was sent that night; this lad went with the express to the Port-admiral at Deal, I believe; it was the express that Mr. Wright gave him from the gentleman who was there; _from that gentleman_.”
“Prof. gentleman" a _perfect gentleman_; cool, quiet, thoughtful, and _perfectly competent to execute his undertaking_.”
“A member referring to another in the course of a debate does not say the gentleman from Manchester, but the honorable gentleman (written hon. gentleman) or, if he happens to be a privy councillor, the right honorable gentleman, or, if he is a member of one of the universities, or a member of one of the learned professions, the honorable and learned gentleman.”
Chapter 4. American and English Today. 2. Differences in Usage
“Who was the gentleman with him -- I hope he was a _gentleman? _”
“He was a gentleman -- a true _gentleman_; at the first glance any one would have given him that honourable and rarely-earned name.”
“In the mean time, a valet of the wardrobe delivered to a gentleman of the chamber the socks and garters, which the _gentleman_ presented to the monarch, and which socks his majesty deigned to draw on himself.”
“The Doctor says, "when I mentioned that I might appear to have _views of commerce, as a merchant_, or of curiosity as a traveller," &c. -- "that there was a gentleman in Petersburg with whom some _in America_ had a correspondence, who had given hints of the utility," &c. -- "and that I could _perhaps by means of that gentleman_ make acquaintance," &c.”
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. VIII
“You dies _straight, _ like a gentleman -- not cribbled up like a snow-fish, chucked out on the ice of the river St Lawrence, with your knees up to your nose, or your toes stuck into your arm-pits, as does take place in some of your foreign complaints; but straight, quite straight, and limber, like a _gentleman_.”
“You dies _straight_, like a gentleman -- not cribbled up like a snow-fish, chucked out on the ice of the river St. Lawrence, with your knees up to your nose, or your toes stuck into your arm-pits, as does take place in some of your foreign complaints; but straight, quite straight, and limber, like a _gentleman_.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘gentleman’.
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people (good)
nouns for good people / words that describe good people.
go to the bad people list
( people, character, descriptor, noun )philanthropist, angel, environmentalist, activist, advocate, volunteer, hero, parent, friend, virtuoso, gentleman, helper and 62 more...
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See Usage Note at
Being a list of words with the phrase "See Usage Note at" in their definitions. Most of these come from the American Heritage Dictionary.
upon, seldom, among, compliment, thus, further, predicament, latter, repel, inflammable, gentleman, adage and 12 more...
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Boswell's Life of Johnson
These are words from The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D. Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works, in Chronological Order; a Series of His Epistolary Correspondence and Conversatio...
Samuel Johnson, LL. D., panegyrist, gentleman, esquire, bookseller, stationer, yeomanry, a general sensati..., farrago, animadversion
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Man
Everything that contains a man in it
taxman, salesman, common man, spaceman, neolithic man, straw man, seaman, fireman, spiderman, overman, old man, con man and 373 more...
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BuffaloBen's Words
sycamore, wipfel, rohlingsspindel, gorgeous, flamboyance, anschmiegen, pengpeng, zuckerhut, revolver, troubleshooter, breeze, dandy and 228 more...
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Buttery
Words that make me feel cozy
Feather, Mug, Knit, Socks, Snug, Soft, Butter, Nugget, Noodle, Curl, Billow, Lounge and 315 more...
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the_grene_kni3t's Words
acuarela, sesquipedalian, capital, métier, chap, cove, guv, guv'nor, ratiocination, transatlantique, ineffable, aural and 142 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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pikkiomania's list
picchio, eufonia, satrapo, cacio, merletto, latrato, gommo, zampetta, cianciche, ganglo, polenta, puzzolerìe and 118 more...
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Menckeniana
Words I learned from H. L. Mencken, words he used often, words that remind me of him, &c. ...Why, yes, he is one of my favorite authors.
menckenite, balderdash, bombast, buncombe, chrestomathy, cynicism, dephlogisticate, dipsomaniac, hyperbolic, iconoclast, irreverent, juvenalian and 27 more...
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patiomensch's Words
ontogeny, plangent, meritocratic, bisensuous, metonymic, bilious, booya, endothermic, nomenclature, dysphemism, mimetic, prosthetic and 61 more...
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TT3 Lesson 35
aircraft, aboard, female, not at all, complex, male, would rather, could do with, chilly, suit yourself, smuggle, joke and 38 more...
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Book of People
Nouns to denote types of people and their natures. Should be able to sum up a person in that one word.
cove, chap, gentleman, lady, lass, lad, flaneur, dude, pal, chum, homie, rudeboy and 41 more...
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TN9 Lesson 107
loudspeaker, gentleman, hand luggage, overhead compartment, Los Angeles, approximately, securely, upright position, suit yourself, flight attendant, straighten, hand baggage and 25 more...
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Are We Not Men?
man, male, masculine, macho, dude, guy, manly, boy, father, gentleman, monsieur, fellow and 34 more...
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cringewordie
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recoil, gentleman, purchase, capitalize, rejoice, instigate, foliage, service, categorically, values, professional, tasteful and 7 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for gentleman.

bilby CD 8. None of the other dictionaries suggest anything similar. Apr 11, 2011