gentility

[ jen-til-i-tee ]
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noun
  1. good breeding or refinement.

  2. affected or pretentious politeness or elegance.

  1. the status of belonging to polite society.

  2. members of polite society collectively.

Origin of gentility

1
1300–50; Middle English <Old French gentilite<Latin gentīlitāt- (stem of gentīlitās), equivalent to gentīl(is) (see gentle) + -itāt--ity

Other words for gentility

Other words from gentility

  • un·gen·til·i·ty, noun

Words Nearby gentility

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How to use gentility in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gentility

gentility

/ (dʒɛnˈtɪlɪtɪ) /


nounplural -ties
  1. respectability and polite good breeding

  2. affected politeness

  1. noble birth or ancestry

  2. people of noble birth

Origin of gentility

1
C14: from Old French gentilite, from Latin gentīlitās relationship of those belonging to the same tribe or family; see gens

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012