Gentle
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
gentle¹
- /ˈd͡ʒɛn.tl̩/ UK
- /ˈd͡ʒɛn.tl̩/ US
- [ˈd͡ʒɛ̃.ɾ̃l̩] US
Rhymes with -ɛntəl
Where it comes from
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.
adjective gentler · more gentle · gentlest · most gentle
- Tender and amiable; of a considerate or kindly disposition. Stuart is a gentle man; he would never hurt you.
- Soft and mild rather than hard or severe. I felt something touch my shoulder; it was gentle and a little slimy.
- Docile and easily managed. We had a gentle swim in the lake.
- Gradual rather than steep or sudden. The walks in this area have a gentle incline.
- Polite and respectful rather than rude. He gave me a gentle reminder that we had to hurry up.
- Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble. "You are of gentle blood," she said […]
Similar: friendly, kind, polite, respectful
verb gentles · gentling · gentled
- To become gentle. A September morning brought a stiff northeast wind that blew at 30 miles an hour and kept small craft out of the sound. But by afternoon the wind gentled and the sound smoothed.
- To ennoble. […] For he to-day that sheds his blood with me / Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, / This day shall gentle his condition […]
- To break; to tame; to domesticate. Yakima could have tried to catch him, gentle him as Wolf had been gentled, but having two stallions in his cavvy would lead to a different kind of trouble.
- To soothe; to calm; to make gentle. A hornist, his playing gentled by perspective, is out of sight within the woods, but his notes are heard through or over the murmuring mix of bird song and breeze in leaves.
noun gentles
- A person of high birth. Gentles, methinks you frown.
- A maggot used as bait by anglers. Pooh! the whole thing is as alive and wrigging as an angler's box of gentles
- A trained falcon, or falcon-gentil.
Gentle²
proper noun Gentles
- A surname.
