gentle (jentl)

and n. [Early mod. E. also jentle; sometimes jantail (cf. mod. jaunty, janty ), of noble or good birth, noble, comely, gentle, etc., Kynge Brangore hadde a gentill lady to his wif, that was doughter to kynge Adryan, the Emperour of Const an tyne noble, that was myghty and riche. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 186. Clerk-like, experienc'd, which no le adorns Our gentry than our parents' noble names, In whose succe we are gentle. Shak., W. T., i. 2. I am as gentle as yourself, as freeborn. Fletcher (and another ), Love's Pilgrimage, ii. 1. 2. Pertaining to or characteristic of good birth or station; honorable; respectable; refined. Gentille of nvrture, & noble of lynage, Was non that bare armure, that did suilk va alage. Rob. of Brunne, p. 188. A hedge-born swain That doth presume to boast of gentle blood. Shak., 1 Hen. VI., iv. 1. 3. Of well-bred character or quality; gracious; courteous; kindly and considerate; not rough or harsh; mild; soothing: as, a gentle nurse; a gentle nature, manner, voice. Sir Gawein seide that he hadde well devised, and that of gentell herte meved this purpos. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 613. The gentle minde by gentle deeds is knowne. Spenser, F. Q., VI. iii. 1. It argues an attractive and gentle nature in him [Aske], that his serving-man died of grief when he was arrested. R. W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng., vii. 4. Tame; docile; tractable; peaceable; not wild or refractory: as, a gentle horse or hawk. The ruffians.. took And bore him to the naked hall of Doorm (His gentle charger following him unled). Tennyson, Geraint. 2490 7t. Refreshing; reviving. There growethe fulle gode Wyn, that men clepen Bigon, that is fulle myghty and gentylle in drynkynge. Mandeville , Travels, p. 209. 8. Gradual; easy; not steep; moderate in degree; not sharply defined: as, a gentle slope; the gentle curves of a river or a figure. At certain places the inclination changes from a gentler to a steeper slope. Tyndall, Forms of Water, p. 105. Shoreward, sometimes in terraces, often with inclines to the river's bank. so gentle as hardly to be traced, the trim lawns steal softly Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 167. Gentle falcon. Same as falcon - gentle. - Gentle reader, courteous, considerate reader: a phrase common until recently especially in the prefaces of books. Receive thankfully, gentle reader , these sermons faithfully collected, without any sinister suspicion of anything in the same being added or adempt. Latimer , Sermons (1549), Pref. The gentle craft, a descriptive phrase used specifically for shoemaking and (after Izaak Walton) for angling. Marry, because you have drunk with the King, And the King hath so graciously pledged you, You shall no more be called shoemakers; But you and yours, to the world's end, Shall be called the trade of the gentle craft. Greene, George-a-Greene (1509). And since that, one of the gentle craft, who took me in finitely for the excellent guift he had in tickling a lady's The Wizard (MS. Play, 1640). heel. He [Venator] agrees to accompany Piscator in his sport, adopts him as his master and guide, and in time becomes initiated into the practice and mysteries of the gentle craft. Chambers , Cyc. of Eng. Lit., Izaak Walton. The gentle (or gentler) sex, women collectively; womankind: opposed to the sterner sex. =Syn. 3 and 4. Gen tle, Meek, Bland, Soft, Tame, Mild; placid, dovelike, quiet, peaceful, pacific, moderate, clement, lenient, merciful, kind, indulgent; tractable, docile. Of the first six words, meek applies only to personal character and behavior; it is wholly good in the Bible, and now indicates a defect of character only occasionally by hyperbole. The others may be either physical or moral. The meaning of bland is founded upon the pleasant feeling of warm breezes, etc.; it suggests a peculiarly soothing impre ion, as a bland demeanor, or an artful endeavor to make such an impres Soft suggests that which yields somewhat upon physical contact, and hence anything not making firm resistance or striking hard. As to animals, gentle refers to nature, being opposed to rough or fierce, while tame is opposed to wild, and refers to familiarity with man: as, a tame duck. Tame is used in a bad sense of spirit and of intellectual productions: as, a tame spirit; some very tame remarks. Mild goes further than gentle in expre ing softne of nature; it is chiefly a word of nature or character, while gentle is chiefly a word of action. Mild is sometimes opposed to acrid, tart, etc. one. He [Roger Williams] does not show himself a very strong or very wise man, but a thoroughly gentle and good Lowell , Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 246. Ble ed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. Mat. v. 5. As meek as the man Moses, and withal As bold as in Agrippa's presence Paul. Cowper , Expostulation, 1. 444. Wherefore cannot I be Like things of the season gay, like the bountiful season bland ? Tennyson, Maud, iv. Prov. xv. 1. A soft answer turneth away wrath. The historian himself, tame and creeping as he is in his ordinary style, warms in sympathy with the Emperor [Cæsar]. De Quincey, Philos. of Rom. Hist. My mother was as mild as any saint, Half-canonized by all that look'd on her. IMG:content-2213.png:[blocks in formation] mesticated. If thou wilt take of a gentil tree Not wilde atte alle withoute as per i tee, When it is two yere olde or III., to thrive, Goode is to sette it. Palladius , Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 86. 6. Soft; mild in action, performance, or use; not rude or boisterous: as, a gentle breeze; a gentle tap; a gentle tone. The quality of mercy is not strain'd; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. Shak., M. of V., iv. 1. The path of the gentle winds is seen, Where the small waves dance, and the young woods lean. Bryant, Song of the Stars. fishing. Blood worms and snails, or crawling gentles small. John Dennys (Arber's Eng. Garner), I. 173. Gentles, which are grubs hatched in meat that has been fly-blown, are a favorite bait in Europe; but, in spite of their beautiful name, are horrible objects, and not in vogue with us. gentleman And all this raking toyle, and carke and care, Is for his clownish first borne sonne and heyre, Who must be gentled by his ill got pelfe; Though he, to get it, got the divell himselfe. John Taylor, Works (1630). 2. To make gentle in manner or appearance; render mild and amiable; soften; subdue: as, to gentle a colt. There is a look of gentled , perhaps we should say broken, feeling. Bushnell, Hours at Home, V. 390.