n. 1. The quality of being well-mannered; refinement. 2. The condition of being born to the gentry. 3. Persons of high social standing considered as a group. 4. An attempt to convey or maintain the appearance of refinement and elegance. [Middle English gentilete, nobility of birth, from Old French, from Latin gentīlitās, from gentīlis, of the same clan; see GENTLE.] |
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