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

See Examples For:

gentleman-commoner gentlemen-commoners

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

But the universities were still open to Louis Philippe, and before he was eighteen he was entered as a gentleman-commoner at Trinity.

From Doctor Thorne by Trollope, Anthony

Then among other of her devotees were Norris, the singer, and Mr. Watts, a rich gentleman-commoner, who had also met her at Oxford.

From The Wits and Beaux of Society Volume 2 by Wharton, Philip

And so his fame travelled far beyond his own collegiate walls, and out-college honourables and gentlemen-commoners were content to make the acquaintance, and eat the dinners that were so freely offered.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 349, November, 1844 by Various

Luckily, as you know, it has always been given out here that all under-graduates, gentlemen-commoners and commoners, have to pass the same college examinations, and to attend the same course of lectures.

From Tom Brown at Oxford by Hughes, Thomas

No one feeds at the high table except the dons and the gentlemen-commoners, who are undergraduates in velvet caps and silk gowns.

From Tom Brown at Oxford by Hughes, Thomas

Especially were they the rule among the noblemen and gentlemen-commoners, who were privileged by their birth and wealth, and to whom by the servility of the Dons every license was allowed.

From Oxford and Her Colleges by Smith, Goldwin

In the first place, under their auspices, gentlemen-commoners increased and multiplied; in fact, the eldest sons of baronets, even squires, were scarcely admitted on any other footing.

From Tom Brown at Oxford by Hughes, Thomas