Gentlewoman

//ˈd͡ʒɛn.təlˌwʊm.ən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A woman of the nobility. historical

    "Gentlewoman: Since his majesty went into the field, I have seen her rise from her bed, throw her night-gown upon[…]"

  2. 2
    a woman of refinement wordnet
  3. 3
    A female member of a legislature, especially a female member of a House of Representatives. US

    "'The gentlewoman from California.' Or 'the gentlewoman from Texas.' Gentlewoman?"

Example

More examples

"Gentlewoman: Since his majesty went into the field, I have seen her rise from her bed, throw her night-gown upon[…]"

Etymology

From Middle English gentilwoman, modelled after gentilman (“gentleman”), equivalent to gentle + -woman.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.