GENTILITY


Meaning of GENTILITY in English

/ dʒenˈtɪləti; NAmE / noun [ U ] ( formal )

1.

very good manners and behaviour; the fact of belonging to a high social class :

He took her hand with discreet gentility.

She thinks expensive clothes are a mark of gentility.

2.

the fact of being quiet and old-fashioned :

the faded gentility of the town

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WORD ORIGIN

Middle English (in the sense honourable birth ): from Old French gentilite , from gentil high-born, noble, from Latin gentilis of the same clan, from gens , gent- family, race, from the root of gignere beget.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.