Part 4765

<cs><col>The gentle craft</col>, <cd>the art or trade of shoemaking.</cd></cs>

<syn>Syn. -- Mild; meek; placid; dovelike; quiet; peaceful; pacific; bland; soft; tame; tractable; docile.</syn> -- <usage><er>Gentle</er>, <er>Tame</er>, <er>Mild</er>, <er>Meek</er>. <i>Gentle</i> describes the natural disposition; <i>tame</i>, that which is subdued by training; <i>mild</i> implies a temper which is, by nature, not easily provoked; <i>meek</i>, a spirit which has been schooled to mildness by discipline or suffering. The lamb is <i>gentle</i>; the domestic fowl is <i>tame</i>; John, the Apostle, was <i>mild</i>; Moses was <i>meek</i>.</usage>

<h1>Gentle</h1> <Xpage=620>

<hw>Gen"tle</hw>, <tt>n.</tt> <p><b>1.</b> <def>One well born; a gentleman.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<blockquote><b>Gentles</b>, methinks you frown. <i>Shak.</i>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>A trained falcon. See <er>Falcon-gentil</er>.</def>

<p><b>3.</b> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld> <def>A dipterous larva used as fish bait.</def>

<h1>Gentle</h1> <Xpage=620>

<hw>Gent"le</hw>, <tt>v. t.</tt> <p><b>1.</b> <def>To make genteel; to raise from the vulgar; to ennoble.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<i>Shak.</i>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>To make smooth, cozy, or agreeable.</def> <mark>[R. or Poet.]</mark>

<blockquote>To <b>gentle</b> life's descent, We shut our eyes, and think it is a plain. <i>Young.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>To make kind and docile, as a horse.</def> <mark>[Colloq.]</mark>

<mhw><h1>Gentlefolk, Gentlefolks</h1> <Xpage=620>

<hw>Gen"tle*folk`</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <hw>Gen"tle*folks`</hw> <tt>(<?/)</tt></mhw>, <tt>n. pl.</tt> <def>Persons of gentle or good family and breeding. <ety>[Generally in the United States in the plural form.]</ety>

<i>Shak.</i>

<h1>Gentle-hearted</h1> <Xpage=620>

<hw>Gen"tle-heart`ed</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <def>Having a kind or gentle disposition.</def> <i>Shak</i>. -- <wordforms><wf>Gen"tle-heart`ed*ness</wf>, <tt>n.</tt></wordforms>

<h1>Gentleman</h1> <Xpage=620>

<hw>Gen"tle*man</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt>; <plu>pl. <plw>Gentlemen</plw> <tt>(#)</tt></plu>. <ety>[OE. <ets>gentilman</ets> nobleman; <ets>gentil</ets> noble + <ets>man</ets> man; cf. F. <ets>gentilhomme</ets>.]</ety>

<p><b>1.</b> <def>A man well born; one of good family; one above the condition of a yeoman.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>One of gentle or refined manners; a well-bred man.</def>

<p><b>3.</b> <fld>(Her.)</fld> <def>One who bears arms, but has no title.</def>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>The servant of a man of rank.</def>

<blockquote>The count's <b>gentleman</b>, one Cesario. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>5.</b> <def>A man, irrespective of condition; -- used esp. in the plural (= citizens; people), in addressing men in popular assemblies, etc.</def>

<note>&hand; In Great Britain, the term <i>gentleman</i> is applied in a limited sense to those having coats of arms, but who are without a title, and, in this sense, <i>gentlemen</i> hold a middle rank between the nobility and yeomanry. In a more extended sense, it includes every man above the rank of yeoman, comprehending the nobility. In the United States, the term is applied to men of education and good breeding of every occupation.</note>

<cs><col>Gentleman commoner</col>, <cd>one of the highest class of commoners at the University of Oxford.</cd> -- <col>Gentleman usher</col>, <cd>one who ushers visitors into the presence of a sovereign, etc.</cd> -- <col>Gentleman usher of the black rod</col>, <cd>an usher belonging to the Order of the Garter, whose chief duty is to serve as official messenger of the House of Lords.</cd> -- <col>Gentlemen-at-arms</col>, <cd>a band of forty gentlemen who attend the sovereign on state occasions; formerly called <i>gentlemen pensioners<i>. <mark>[Eng.]</mark></cd></cs>