gentleman-commoner

American  

[jen-tl-muhn-kom-uh-ner] / ˈdʒɛn tl mənˈkɒm ə nər /

noun

gentlemen-commoners plural

1. (formerly) a member of a class of commoners enjoying special privileges at Oxford University.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gentlemen-commoners
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gentleman-commoner

First recorded in 1680–90

Example Sentences

I. "Have you any idea who that fresh gentleman-commoner is?" said I to Savile, who was sitting next to me at dinner, one day soon after the beginning of term.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 370, August 1846 by Various

The apostasy of a gentleman-commoner would of course be for a time the chief subject of conversation in the common room of Magdalene.

From Life of Johnson, Volume 2 1765-1776 by Hill, George Birkbeck Norman

We got a conversion speech from a Christ Church gentleman-commoner, named Alston, which produced an excellent effect, and the division was favourable beyond anything we had hoped—ninety-four to thirty-eight.

From The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Vol. 1 (of 3) 1809-1859 by Morley, John

“Have you any idea who that fresh gentleman-commoner is?” said I to Savile, who was sitting next to me at dinner, one day soon after the beginning of term.

From Tales from Blackwood Volume 4 by Various

And now it was that, for the first time, I learnt the connection that existed between the Bible-clerk and the quondam gentleman-commoner.

From Tales from Blackwood Volume 4 by Various