gentry

[jen-tree]

See more synonyms for gentry on Thesaurus.com

noun

wellborn and well-bred people.
(in England) the class below the nobility.
an upper or ruling class; aristocracy.

those who are not members of the nobility but are entitled to a coat of arms, especially those owning large tracts of land.
(used with a plural verb) people, especially considered as a specific group, class, or kind: The polo crowd doesn't go there, but these hockey gentry do.
the state or condition of being a gentleman.

Origin of gentry

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English word from Old French word genterie. See gentile, gentle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for gentry

aristocracy

Examples from the Web for gentry

Contemporary Examples of gentry

But the new rich, particularly the young, tend to be more progressive, or at least gentry liberal.
Trustafarians Want to Tell You How to Live
Joel Kotkin
October 31, 2014
Gentry domination requires allies with a broader social base and their own political power.
California’s New Feudalism Benefits a Few at the Expense of the Multitude
Joel Kotkin
October 5, 2013
The Beltway gentry gets a great deal on government-provided health care—but they think your plan needs cutting.
D.C. Elites Agree on Medicare RX: Cuts for Thee, but Not for Me
Lloyd Green
March 17, 2013
If Wall Street wants to join the “progressive” gentry parade again, as it did in 2008, Republican should encourage them.
Off the Rails: How the Party of Lincoln Became the Party of Plutocrats
Joel Kotkin
November 22, 2012

Historical Examples of gentry

You will have wealth, station—a name among the first in the gentry of England.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
I suppose you have no objection this time to bestow a few bullets on these gentry?
The Field of Ice
Jules Verne
The guests comprised the gentry of the neighbourhood, and also many from a distance.
Adventures and Recollections
Bill o'th' Hoylus End
But that only makes him angry, and he says dreadful things about the gentry.
The Silver Box (First Series Plays)
John Galsworthy
The people are coming in hundreds—aye, in thousands—the gentry will follow; they must.
Mistress Wilding
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for gentry

gentry

noun

persons of high birth or social standing; aristocracy
British persons just below the nobility in social rank
informal, often derogatory people, esp of a particular group or kind

Word Origin for gentry

C14: from Old French genterie, from gentil gentle

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

Word Origin and History for gentry

c.1300, "nobility of rank or birth," from Old French genterise, variant of gentilise "noble birth, gentleness," from gentil (see gentle). Meaning "noble persons" is from 1520s. Earlier in both senses was gentrice (c.1200 as "nobility of character," late 14c. as "noble persons"). In Anglo-Irish, gentry was a name for "the fairies" (1880), and gentle could mean "enchanted" (1823).