Gentleman

(jen'tl-măn.) [From L. gens, ancestry, and Eng. man.] (Her.) In its original sense, a person entitled to wear coat-armor; that is to say, one whose lineage was traceable to a noble or knightly origin, or whose ancestors were freemen; the term, however, is applied very generally, among the moderns, to such male persons as are of honorable birth and distinguished by moral worth, education of mind, and refinement of manners. As a rank de facto, the title is obsolete. [s. 401]