Gentleman

Gentleman

The term gentleman (from Latin gentilis, belonging to a race or gens, and man, cognate with the French word gentilhomme, the Spanish Caballero, the Italian gentil uomo or gentiluomo and the Portuguese gentil-homem), in its original and strict signification, denoted a man of the lowest rank of the English gentry, standing below an esquire and above a yeoman.

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Famous quotes containing the word gentleman:

    ““Faith” is a fine invention
    When Gentleman can see—
    But Microscopes are prudent
    In an Emergency.”
    —Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

    “Believe me, there exists no such dilemma as that in which a gentleman is placed when he is forced to reply to a blackguard.”
    —Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845)

    “Altarwise by owl-light in the half-way house
    The gentleman lay graveward with his furies;
    Abaddon in the hangnail cracked from Adam,
    And, from his fork, a dog among the fairies,
    The atlas-eater with a jaw for news,
    Bit out the mandrake with to-morrow’s scream.”
    —Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)