gentleman
Pluralgentlemen
- 1Any man, used as a courteous or polite term of reference.
A gentleman in the front row stood up to ask the speaker a question.
The waiter asked whether the gentleman would like to see the menu.
Oppositelady
Note
The courteous stand-in for man, used about or to a stranger whose name you do not know. It is the word of ushers, waiters and hosts, and it also labels facilities, as in the gentlemen's room. Nothing about breeding or manners is implied. The politeness belongs to the speaker, not to the man described. Sahib serves as a near equivalent.
- 2Any man who shows good breeding, polite manners, or personal charm.
Everyone agreed he was a perfect gentleman, courteous to staff and guests alike.
She married a charming gentleman who treated her family with great respect.
Oppositeboor, lout, cad, brute
Note
The word is gentle plus man, partly modeled on Old French gentilhome, and its first sense is a man of gentle birth. Here the gentility lies in conduct rather than pedigree. The phrase "being a gentleman" often introduces a small act of restraint, as in Mike Pappas's Growing Up the Greek Way in the Big Apple (2011): being a gentleman, he bites his tongue and agrees to see Gigi.
- 3A man of gentle but not noble birth, especially one wealthy enough that he need not work for a living and holds no rank in the peerage.
The estate passed to a country gentleman who lived comfortably on his rents.
But when Adam delued, and Eue ſpan, VVho was then a Gentleman?
1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke StrawNote
A rank rather than a compliment. In English law a gentleman was armigerous, entitled to a coat of arms, and stood just below a knight, still a commoner and outside the peerage. The rank was challenged early. The Life and Death of Iacke Straw (1593) asks, "When Adam delved, and Eve span, who was then a gentleman?" In older texts the word often means this status, not good manners.
- 4An amateur player, especially one whose wealth allows him to play without being paid.
The club's finest gentleman played every match without ever accepting a fee.
Each summer the gentlemen took to the field against the paid professionals.
Similaramateur
Oppositeprofessional
Note
Cricket drew the class line on the field itself. The gentleman was the amateur who could afford to play without a fee. The paid professional was called a "player," so the two sides could be named simply gentlemen and players. Unlike the dabbler's sense, the word here implies no slight on ability. It names a footing, not a level of play.
- 5An amateur or dabbler in some field, especially a man of independent means, used dismissively.
The journal dismissed him as a gentleman who collected fossils without ever studying them properly.
Latrobe had extensive dealings with Jefferson, the most prominent gentleman-architect in the United States.
2004, Mary N. Woods, “The First Professional: Benjamin Henry Latrobe”Similardilettante
Oppositeprofessional, expert
Note
This sense is often fused to the front of a profession, as in gentleman-architect. Mary N. Woods (2004) calls Jefferson the most prominent gentleman-architect in the United States, in an essay that sets Latrobe beside him as "The First Professional." The compound need not sneer. It marks a man who practiced out of interest and on private means rather than for a fee. Dilettante carries the sharper edge.
- 6An effeminate or excessively refined man, used disapprovingly.
The sergeant sneered at the recruit as too much of a gentleman for hard fieldwork.
They mocked him as a perfumed gentleman afraid to dirty his hands.
Similarsissy, fairy, pansy, femboy, twink
Note
The sneer works by irony. It turns the courteous sense against its target, usually with a mocking "proper gentleman" or a la-di-da. The older synonyms show the same idea: puss-gentleman, and cockney in its sense of a pampered man rather than a Londoner. Sissy is the blunt modern equivalent. Because the insult depends on tone, the same sentence can read as praise on the page.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English gentilman, formed from 'gentle' + 'man', and a partial calque of Old French gentilhome.