Gentleman Meaning
/ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAny well-bred, well-mannered, or charming man.
nounAny man.
Sentence Examples
Your conduct doesn't become a gentleman.
I met a certain gentleman at the station.
You acted like a true gentleman.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In Victorian England, a ____ was always expected to be chivalrous and polite.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is a true ____ who always treats everyone he meets with the utmost kindness and respect.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English gentilman, morphologically gentle + man, partial calque of Old French gentilhome.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
"As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish,[…]. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get.[…]I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life."
— 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:
"She wanted to go see a movie called Gigi, which I was not too thrilled about. But being a gentleman, I bit my tongue and said, “Okay.”"
— 2011, Mike Pappas, Growing Up the Greek Way in the Big Apple, page 103:
"And when their ſcattered armie is ſubdu’d:
And you march on their ſlaughtered carkaſſes,
Share equally the gold that bought their liues,
And liue like Gentlmen in Perſea, […]"
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene ii:
"But when Adam delued, and Eue ſpan,
VVho was then a Gentleman?"
— 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act I:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In Victorian England, a ____ was always expected to be chivalrous and polite.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is a true ____ who always treats everyone he meets with the utmost kindness and respect.