gentlewoman

[ jen-tl-woom-uhn ]

/ ˈdʒɛn tlˌwʊm ən /

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See synonyms for gentlewoman on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural gen·tle·wom·en.

a woman of good family, breeding, or social position

a civilized, educated, sensitive, or well-mannered woman; lady.

a woman who attends upon a lady of rank.

a female member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives: The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Maine.

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Origin of gentlewoman

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at gentle, woman

OTHER WORDS FROM gentlewoman

gen·tle·wom·an·ly, adjective

Words nearby gentlewoman

gentlemen's agreement, gentleness, gentlepeople, gentleperson, gentle sex, gentlewoman, gently, Gentoo, gentoo penguin, gentrice, gentrification

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

How to use gentlewoman in a sentence

There are spinsters, doctors, educated gentlewomen, badly behaved cads, servants, inspectors, ministers, you name it — all types who sometimes subvert but more often fulfill the stereotype.
Of course Glass Onion is a blast. But it cuts deeper than Knives Out, too.|Alissa Wilkinson|November 23, 2022|Vox
Like my friend I used to play with in college, who worked in government and quit and now works in Virginia as a gentlewoman farmer, I had seen her maybe once in the last 10 years and now I see her every month.
The Lost Year: Exercise in quarantine, keeping a business alive, and the unusual intimacy of Zoom|Emily VanDerWerff|December 31, 2020|Vox
He is unfit to be called a man, he is unworthy to marry a gentlewoman; and as for that hussy, I disown her.
Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush|William Makepeace Thackeray
Mr. Hill came to tell me that he had got a gentlewoman for my wife, one Mrs. Ferrabosco, that sings most admirably.
Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete|Samuel Pepys

He sends for the young Sister; very pretty indeed, and a gentlewoman by birth, though penniless.
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. VII. (of XXI.)|Thomas Carlyle
I will take no less for it, young gentlewoman; it has caused me a world of trouble.
Lavengro|George Borrow
Under other circumstances I should have judged her to have been a gentlewoman.
The Escape of a Princess Pat|George Pearson

British Dictionary definitions for gentlewoman

gentlewoman

/ (ˈdʒɛntəlˌwʊmən) /

noun plural -women

archaic a woman regarded as being of good family or breeding; lady

rare a woman who is cultured, courteous, and well-educated

history a woman in personal attendance on a high-ranking lady

Derived forms of gentlewoman

gentlewomanly, adjectivegentlewomanliness, noun

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

gentlewoman

Origin of gentlewoman

OTHER WORDS FROM gentlewoman

Words nearby gentlewoman

Words related to gentlewoman

How to use gentlewoman in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gentlewoman

Derived forms of gentlewoman