Gentry

//ˈd͡ʒɛntɹi// name, noun

name, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Birth; condition; rank by birth. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    the most powerful members of a society wordnet
  3. 3
    Courtesy; civility; complaisance. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    People of education and good breeding. countable, uncountable

    "landed gentry"

  5. 5
    In a restricted sense, those people between the nobility and the yeomanry. British, countable, uncountable
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    A place in the United States:; A city in Benton County, Arkansas.
  3. 3
    A place in the United States:; A village in Gentry County, Missouri.
  4. 4
    A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Potter County, Texas.

Example

More examples

"The nobility and gentry of Scotland, at this period, were remarkable even to extravagance for the number of their servants, whose services were easily purchased in a country where men were numerous beyond proportion to the means of employing them."

Etymology

From Old French genterie (“noble people collectively; nobility of character or manners”), from gent (“well-born”) + -erie.

Related phrases

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