gentry

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"A blind rumour has begun to circulate among the masses to the effect that the gentry are about to poison their peasants _en masse_."

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. noun People of gentle birth, good breeding, or high social position.
  2. noun An upper or ruling class.
  3. noun The class of English landowners ranking just below the nobility.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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This word has been looked up 94 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

landowner ·  nobility ·  planter ·  peasantry ·  nobleman ·  clergy ·  bourgeoisie ·  magnate ·  artisan ·  magistrate ·  squire ·  tradesman
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English gentri, nobility of birth, from Old French genterie, variant of genterise, gentilise, from gentil, noble; see gentle.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English gentry, gentrie, gentery, genterie (also gentlery), noble or high birth, the condition or behavior of a gentleman, an abbreviation (perhaps regarded as the singular of the supposed plural) of gentrise, gentrice, gentries, genterise, of the same sense, from Old French genterise, variant of gentilise, gentillece, later gentilesse, rank, nobility: see gentilesse. The same change of l to r occurs in fortalice, fortress.
 

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/ˈdʒɛntri/
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