/jen"tree/ , n.
1. wellborn and well-bred people.
2. (in England) the class below the nobility.
3. an upper or ruling class; aristocracy.
4. those who are not members of the nobility but are entitled to a coat of arms, esp. those owning large tracts of land.
5. ( used with a pl. v. ) people, esp. considered as a specific group, class, or kind: The polo crowd doesn't go there, but these hockey gentry do.
6. the state or condition of being a gentleman.
[ 1275-1325; ME genterie. See GENTILE, GENTLE ]