ˈjen.trē, -ri noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English gentrie, alteration of gentrise
1.
a. obsolete : the qualities ascribed or appropriate to a man of gentle birth : good breeding : generosity , courtesy
show us so much gentry and goodwill — Shakespeare
b. : the condition or rank of a gentleman
a favorite topic of discussion was whether apprenticeship to trade annulled gentry — A.R.Wagner
2.
a. : people of quality or the class to which they belong : upper or ruling class : nobility , aristocracy , elite
retains the idea of the gentry versus the lower classes — Sinclair Lewis
the two chief classes of New England: the yeomanry … and the gentry , a group of capable merchants — V.L.Parrington
a gentry … a class of rich people able to cultivate themselves with an expensive education — G.B.Shaw
b. : a class whose members are entitled to bear a coat of arms though not of noble rank ; especially : the landed proprietors having such status
the English gentry have never had the permanence of the Scottish landed families — L.G.Pine
c. : a class of landed proprietors marked by an aristocratic spirit and typically wielding large economic, social, and political influence ; also : the persons making up such a class
rural gentry from the 169 towns of Connecticut — American Guide Series: Connecticut
no love was lost between … gentry and hillbilly commoners — C.V.Woodward
3.
a. : people of a specified class or kind : folks
redingotes in the loud, colored, checks, popular with the sporting gentry — New York Times
b. : a particular group of people of doubtful, erroneous, or improper ideas, manners, or conduct
they do a lot of damage … these gentry with their open diplomacy, openly arrived at — Howard Spring
provide a wealth of … data on the activities of these gentry — American Polit. Sci. Review
4. dialect chiefly Britain : fairies
the gentry who harass travelers with tricks — James Reynolds