gentleman-farmer

[ jen-tl-muhn-fahr-mer ]

noun,plural gen·tle·men-farm·ers.
  1. a man whose wealth or income from other sources permits him to farm for pleasure rather than for basic income.

  2. a man whose income from his farm has freed him from the necessity of physical labor.

Origin of gentleman-farmer

1
First recorded in 1740–50

Words Nearby gentleman-farmer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use gentleman-farmer in a sentence

  • Thus she astonished a gentleman farmer by drawing attention to the fine points of his horses.

    George Eliot | Mathilde Blind
  • We may be allowed to think that the "gentleman-farmer" has chosen the better part.

    South America To-day | Georges Clemenceau
  • He was a pleasant, hollow-chested little man; his delicacy of lung gave him his excuse for playing gentleman farmer.

    The Readjustment | Will Irwin
  • Squireen′, a gentleman farmer, one almost a squire; Squire′hood, the state or rank of a squire—also Squire′ship.

  • We were now reminded of the English tenant, or even gentleman-farmer—with a difference.

    In the Heart of Vosges | Matilda Betham-Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for gentleman-farmer

gentleman-farmer

nounplural gentlemen-farmers
  1. a person who engages in farming but does not depend on it for his living

  2. a person who owns farmland but does not farm it personally

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012