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Gentle
Definitions
- 1 Tender and amiable; of a considerate or kindly disposition.
"Stuart is a gentle man; he would never hurt you."
- 2 Soft and mild rather than hard or severe.
"I felt something touch my shoulder; it was gentle and a little slimy."
- 3 Docile and easily managed.
"We had a gentle swim in the lake."
- 4 Gradual rather than steep or sudden.
"The walks in this area have a gentle incline."
- 5 Polite and respectful rather than rude.
"He gave me a gentle reminder that we had to hurry up."
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- 6 Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble. archaic
""You are of gentle blood," she said […]"
- 1 marked by moderate steepness wordnet
- 2 having little impact wordnet
- 3 having or showing a kindly or tender nature wordnet
- 4 quiet and soothing wordnet
- 5 soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe wordnet
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- 6 belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy wordnet
- 7 easily handled or managed wordnet
- 1 A surname.
- 1 A person of high birth. archaic
"Gentles, methinks you frown."
- 2 A maggot used as bait by anglers.
"Pooh! the whole thing is as alive and wrigging as an angler's box of gentles"
- 3 A trained falcon, or falcon-gentil.
- 1 To become gentle. intransitive
"“She's experienced a horrific and nasty scare and is in a state of shock, but otherwise she's relatively okay.” Conrad replied, his tone at first grim (as he recalled what he'd seen in the family room) and then it gentled to a more doctorial tone as he directed his next comments to his patient."
- 2 stroke soothingly wordnet
- 3 To ennoble. obsolete, transitive
"[…] 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 […]"
- 4 cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of wordnet
- 5 To break; to tame; to domesticate. transitive
"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."
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- 6 give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility wordnet
- 7 To soothe; to calm; to make gentle. transitive
"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."
Etymology
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.
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.
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.
See also for "gentle"
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