gentlewoman
Americannoun
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archaic a woman regarded as being of good family or breeding; lady
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rare a woman who is cultured, courteous, and well-educated
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history a woman in personal attendance on a high-ranking lady
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gentlewoman
Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at gentle, woman
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Portrait of a Court Lady,” acquired in 2013, shows the nearly life-size image of a refined gentlewoman seated on a garden terrace.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025
"Because being a polite gentleman or gentlewoman is all about first impressions," she said.
From BBC • Nov. 10, 2025
One of his stories is about a Southern gentlewoman who keeps her dead fiance’s corpse in her bed.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2023
Schiff shot back, “As the gentlewoman should know, if she was present for the depositions — ”
From Washington Post • Nov. 15, 2019
“Your generous purse and the circumstances of your arrival suggest to me that you are a gentlewoman of means. Do you flee a cruel father or a forced marriage?”
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
