Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Gentle

Gen′tle (jĕn′t'l), a. [Compar. Gentler; superl. Gentlest.] [OE. gentil, F. gentil noble, pretty, graceful, fr. L. gentilis of the same clan or race, fr. gens, gentis, tribe, clan, race, orig. that which belongs together by birth, fr. the root of genere, gignere, to beget; hence gentle, properly, of birth or family, that is, of good or noble birth. See Gender, and cf. Genteel, Gentil, Gentile, Gentoo, Jaunty.] 1. Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble.

British society is divided into nobility, gentry, and yeomanry, and families are either noble, gentle, or simple. Johnson's Cyc.

The studies wherein our noble and gentle youth ought to bestow their time. Milton.

2. Quiet and refined in manners; not rough, harsh, or stern; mild; meek; bland; amiable; tender; as, a gentle nature, temper, or disposition; a gentle manner; a gentle address; a gentle voice.

3. A compellative of respect, consideration, or conciliation; as, gentle reader. "Gentle sirs." "Gentle Jew." "Gentle servant." Shak.

4. Not wild, turbulent, or refractory; quiet and docile; tame; peaceable; as, a gentle horse.

5. Soft; not violent or rough; not strong, loud, or disturbing; easy; soothing; pacific; as, a gentle touch; a gentle gallop . "Gentle music." Sir J. Davies.

O sleep! it is a gentle thing. Coleridge.

The gentle craft, the art or trade of shoemaking.

Syn. — Mild; meek; placid; dovelike; quiet; peaceful; pacific; bland; soft; tame; tractable; docile. — Gentle, Tame, Mild, Meek. Gentle describes the natural disposition; tame, that which is subdued by training; mild implies a temper which is, by nature, not easily provoked; meek, a spirit which has been schooled to mildness by discipline or suffering. The lamb is gentle; the domestic fowl is tame; John, the Apostle, was mild; Moses was meek.

Gen′tle, n. 1. One well born; a gentleman. [Obs.]

Gentles, methinks you frown. Shak.

2. A trained falcon. See Falcon-gentil.

3. (Zoöl.) A dipterous larva used as fish bait.

Gent′le, v. t. 1. To make genteel; to raise from the vulgar; to ennoble. [Obs.] Shak.

2. To make smooth, cozy, or agreeable. [R. or Poet.]

To gentle life's descent, We shut our eyes, and think it is a plain. Young.

3. To make kind and docile, as a horse. [Colloq.]

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.