gentilesse

[ jen-tl-es, jen-tl-es ]

/ ˈdʒɛn tlˌɛs, ˌdʒɛn tlˈɛs /

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noun

the quality of being gentle.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of gentilesse

1300–50; Middle English <Middle French gentillesse, equivalent to gentil (see genteel, gentle) + -esse noun suffix

Words nearby gentilesse

gentian family, gentian violet, gentile, Gentile da Fabriano, Gentileschi, gentilesse, gentilism, gentility, gentisate, gentisic acid, gentle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gentilesse in a sentence

The first line means—'With regard to, or As to the first stock (or source), who was the father of gentilesse.'
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
To which add, as a twenty-third, the three stanzas on Gentilesse quoted in Scogan's poem (no. 33).
Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 (of 7) -- Notes to the Canterbury Tales|Geoffrey Chaucer
See remarks (in the notes) on Chaucer's Balade of Gentilesse.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 2 (of 7)|Geoffrey Chaucer
Thou hast drawn all the thread out of my shift with thy gentilesse; thou hast tickled my heart with thy rebeck.
The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio|Giovanni Boccaccio

The 'cours d'amour, parlements d'amour, ou de courtoisie et de gentilesse,' had much more of love than of courtesy and gentleness.
The Moral and Intellectual Diversity of Races|Arthur, comte de Gobineau

British Dictionary definitions for gentilesse

gentilesse

/ (ˈdʒɛntəˌlɛs) /

noun

archaic politeness or good breeding

Word Origin for gentilesse

C14: from Old French gentillesse; see genteel

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