| 释义 |
gentleman|ˈdʒɛnt(ə)lmən|
Forms: see gentle and man; also gentman, gemman.
[f. gentle + man, on the model of OF. gentilz hom (F. gentilhomme) = It. gentiluomo, Sp. gentilhombre.]
1. a. A man of gentle birth, or having the same heraldic status as those of gentle birth; properly, one who is entitled to bear arms, though not ranking among the nobility (see quot. 1882), but also applied to a person of distinction without precise definition of rank. Now chiefly Hist.
a1275Prov. ælfred 706 in O.E. Misc. 138 Hic ne sige nout bi þan, þat moni ne ben gentile man. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6618 Gentil men þat he vond in prison ek ydo..he boȝte hom out also. 1340Ayenb. 190 A riche ientilman wes y-robbed of þieues. c1440York Myst. xxx. 169 Ther schall a gentilman, Jesu, vn-justely be juged. c1477Caxton Jason 6 These two worthy Gentilmenn Hercules and Jason ouerthrew their felaws and gate the felde. 1493Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 109 b, And Poule for he was a gentylman borne for the more worshyppe they smote of his heed. a1529Skelton Poems agst. Garnesche iv. 69 Thow thou be a jantyll man borne, Yet jentylnes in the ys thred bare worne. 1596Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 672/1 Yf he can derive himselfe from the head of a septe..then he holdeth himselfe a gentellman. 1614Selden Titles Hon. Pref. B iv, Hee that is so both Εὐγενής and Γενναῖος i. both discended from truly Noble Parentage, and withal following their steps, or adding to their Name, is the Gentleman that may lawfully glorie in his Title. 1671Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 22 There are no men of quality but the Duke of Monmouth, all the rest are gentlemen. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest i, Pierre de la Motte was a gentleman descended from an ancient house of France. 1882Cussans Her. xvi. (ed. 3) 215 Gentlemen are all those who, lawfully entitled to Armorial distinction, are not included in any of the before-mentioned degrees [of nobility]. 1884Freeman in Encycl. Brit. XVII. 540/1 Early in the 11th century the order of ‘gentlemen’ as a separate class seems to be forming as something new.
†b. Appended to the name of a man, as an indication of his rank; often abbreviated as Gent. Obs.; but see sense 4 c.
1425Newminster Cartul. (Surtees) 190 Joh. de Mitforde—gentilman. 1481in Surtees Misc. (1888) 39 John Stathom jentilman, William Belasys jentilman..beris witness. 1591(title) The Geomancie of Maister Christopher Cattan, Gentleman. 1706(title) The New World of Words..Compiled by Edward Phillips, Gent. 1791Boswell Johnson (1831) I. 1 His father is there styled Gentleman, [but]..the appellation of Gentleman..was commonly taken by those who could not boast of gentility.
c. Used (with more or less of its literal meaning) as a complimentary designation of a member of certain societies or professions. Chiefly pl. Obs. in ordinary use.
1537Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 61 One being a gentellman of the Inner Temple in London. 1581W. Blandy Cast. Policy 18 b, Captayne, Lieutenent, Auncient, Serieant of a Company, gentleman in a company or of the Rounde, Lance passado. These are speciall; the other that remaine, priuate or common Souldiars. c1661in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 6 Gervise Lucas served George Earle of Rutland as gentleman of his horse some yeares. 1670–1Sir J. Turner Pallas Armata (1683) 218 A Gentleman of the company is he who is something more than an ordinary Souldier, hath a little more pay, and doth not stand Centinel. 1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 34 Three worthy Gentlemen of the Long Robe. 1681Luttrell Brief Rel. I. 101 The addresse of some gentlemen of the Middle Temple was presented on Sunday last. 1713in Lond. Gaz. No. 5086/2 The Gentlemen of the Horse and Grenadier Guards..who are..on the Out-Pension. 1768J. Byron Narr. Wager (1778) 138, I leave it to the decision of the gentlemen of the faculty. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Gentlemen, the messmates of the gunroom or cockpit—as mates, midshipmen, clerks, and cadets.
2. spec.
a. A man of gentle birth attached to the household of the sovereign or other person of high rank; frequently with defining term added, as gentleman in waiting, gentleman of the (King's) Chamber, gentleman of the Chapel Royal, etc.
1463Bury Wills (Camden) 16 Item to eu'y gentylman of my lord abbotte wiche be comyng and goyng as officeres and menyal men longyng to the houshold of my felashippe. 1503Privy Purse Exp. Eliz. York (1830) 96 To Richard Brampton gentilman of the pantry with the Quene. 1520Caxton's Chron. Eng. iii. 26 b/1 The gentylmen of the kynges housholde and the gentylmen of the Erles housholde of London after meet wente togyder for to play. 1561Cheque Bk. Chapel Royal (Camden) 1 The Subdeanes and Gentlemen succeedinge since the third yeare of the raigne of Queen Elizabeth. 1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 142 Those which were then called Chamberlaines, are now Gentlemen of the Chamber. 1791–1823in D'Israeli Cur. Lit. (1866) 559/2 note, He then called for his gentleman (a kind of humble friend whom noblemen used to retain under that name in those days). 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 315 In the reign of Henry the Seventh, fresh meat was never eaten even by the gentlemen attendant on a great earl. 1884F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer I. 24 Now and then one of the young gentlemen-in-waiting from the Vatican strolls in and says his prayers.
b. † gentleman-pensioner, now gentleman-at-arms: one of forty gentlemen who act as guards or attendants to the sovereign on state occasions.
1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 398 Guards of the Prince: which though they be souldiers in time of warre, yet are they but like our Gentlemen pensioners..in time of peace. 1702Lond. Gaz. No. 3822/4 His Grace the Duke of St. Albans Captain of the Band of Gentlemen-Pensioners. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey) s.v. Pensioner, The Queen's Pensioners, or Gentlemen-Pensioners, a Band of Gentlemen so call'd, who are arm'd with Partisans, and attend as a Guard upon the Queen's Person in her Palace: They were first appointed a.d. 1539 and their Salary is 80 Pounds Sterling per Annum. 1859A. de Fonblanque How we are governed 101 note, The corps of ‘Gentlemen-at-arms’ consists of a captain..and forty gentlemen. 1889John Bull 2 Mar. 149/2 Her Majesty's Body Guard of the Hon. Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms was on duty in the State saloons.
c. gentleman-at-large, † a gentleman attached to the court but having no special duties assigned to him (obs.); hence jocularly in mod. use (after sense 4 c), one who is out of work.
1692Lond. Gaz. No. 2809/3 The Gentlemen at large. 1862Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. ii. iv. 168 You'd rather be a gentleman at large.
3. a. A man in whom gentle birth is accompanied by appropriate qualities and behaviour; hence, in general, a man of chivalrous instincts and fine feelings.
In this sense the term is frequently defined by reference to the later derived senses of ‘gentle’.
c1386Chaucer Melib. ⁋675 And certes he sholde nat be called a gentil man, that..ne dooth his diligence and bisynesse, to kepen his good name. c1400Rom. Rose 2197 Who so is vertuous, And in his post nought outrageous..he is gentil bycause he doth As longeth to a gentilman. 14..Qual. Gentlem. in Rel. Ant. I. 252 Trauthe, pettee, fredome, and hardynesse..Off thisse virtues iiij. who lakkyth iij., He aught never gentylmane called to be. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 183 b, In this acte the lord Clyfford was accompted a tyraunt, and no gentelman. 1553Primer, Sundry godly prayers P iv b, That as they be called gentle menne in name, so they maye shewe them selues in al theyr doinges gentle, curteous, louyng..vnto theyr inferiours. 1604Dekker 1st Pt. Honest Wh. (1635) K iv b, A soft, meeke, patient, humble, tranquill spirit; The first true Gentleman that ever breath'd. 1653Walton Angler i. 13, I would rather prove my self to be a Gentleman, by being learned and humble, valiant and inoffensive, vertuous, and communicable, then by a fond ostentation of riches. 1710Steele Tatler No. 207 ⁋4 The Appellation of Gentleman is never to be affixed to a Man's Circumstances, but to his Behaviour in them. 1743Appleton Serm. 153 The Gentle-Man will treat every Man with due Respect, and will be friendly, yielding, condescending, obliging, and ready to do a Kindness. 1821Byron Juan iii. xli, With such true breeding of a gentleman, You never could divine his real thought. 1834T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 287 Judges of the Exchequer were designated thus: one as a gentleman and a lawyer; another as a lawyer but no gentleman. 1894Blackmore Perlycross 320 Because he is a gentleman..which a nobleman sometimes is not.
b. transf. In racing phrases, quite a gentleman, etc., as a laudatory description of a horse.
1889Daily News 27 Dec. 2/4 A trained and massive bay carthorse..who in pacing, prancing and stepping to music proved himself every inch a gentleman. 1891Field 7 Mar. 334/1 Quite a gentleman, too, is the Compton Stud Company's Marioni..there is so much quality about him. 1894Daily News 7 June 7/2 He [Ladas] is a gentleman all over.
4. a. A man of superior position in society, or having the habits of life indicative of this; often, one whose means enable him to live in easy circumstances without engaging in trade, a man of money and leisure. In recent use often employed (esp. in ‘this gentleman’) as a more courteous synonym for ‘man’, without regard to the social rank of the person referred to. spec. in Cricket: a non-professional player (opp. player1 2 c). Also transf. (See also fine gentleman.)
1583Hollyband Campo di Fior 233 He hath set his minde to keepe horses in stable, and to follow hunting: Thinking that he can not be a gentelman by other wayes. 1599B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. i. (1600) C 1 a, I haue lande and money, my friendes left mee well, and I will be a gentleman whatsoeuer it cost me. 1636E. Dacres tr. Machiavel's Disc. Livy I. 219 Those are call'd gentlemen, that live in idlenesse yet deliciously of the profits of their estates, without having any care to cultivate their lands. 1700S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 15 This old Gentleman was the first I saw buried after the Sea⁓fashion. 1727De Foe Eng. Tradesman (1732) II. vi. 168 The rich Tradesman..laid the Tradesman down and commenc'd Gentleman. 1762Goldsm. Nash 209 The great error lies in imagining every fellow with a laced coat to be a gentleman. 1791Hampson Mem. J. Wesley III. 114 Though gentlemen are often above being religious themselves, they seem generally to have agreed, that it is very proper for the vulgar. 1806in F. Lillywhite Cricket Scores & Biographies 1746–1826 (1862) I. 328 This being the first match between the Gentlemen and the Players. 1879M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. lvi. 571 Gentlemen and tradesmen came forward to act as special constables. 1884Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 29 The two matches between the Gentlemen and Players. 1891[see player1 2 c]. 1897Daily News 30 Mar. 6/2 All shopkeepers are now ‘young gentlemen’ and ‘young ladies’. 1966Listener 25 Aug. 265/2 The social split..which I have described as the amateur and gentleman versus the professional and player. 1971A. Price Alamut Ambush xii. 140 That calculated..amateurishness of his—the flouting of the rules to prove that he was a gentleman rather than a player.
b. In pl. used as a polite term of address to a company of men of whatever rank (corresponding to ‘Sir’ in sing.). † Also in sing. to one man.
1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 49 Gentleman and friend, the tryall I haue had of thy manners [etc.]. Ibid. 205 To the Gentlemen Readers. I was driuen into a quandarie, Gentlemen, whether [etc.]. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. i. 187 Your name, honest Gentleman? 1669Dryden Tyrannic Love Epil. 3, I come, kind gentlemen, strange news to tell ye. Ibid. 25 But farewell, gentlemen. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 93 The Captain said, Very well, Gentlemen, you have caught me Napping; I do not see any of you in Liquor. 1808Grose Antiq. Rep. II. 405 All public addresses to a mixed assembly of both sexes, till sixty years ago, commenced Gentlemen and Ladies: at present it is Ladies and Gentlemen. 1851Househ. Words No. 45. 436 ‘Aha!’ exclaimed the director, ‘..This way, gentlemen!’ 1872Ruskin Eagle's Nest §170 Gentlemen,—the word by which I at this moment address you [etc.]. 1897Westm. Gaz. 15 July 7/1 Lady Henry Somerset..made a speech..‘Gentlemen and ladies,’—[etc.].
c. In legal documents used as the designation of a socially respectable person who has no specific occupation or profession. Cf. 1 b.
1862Daily Tel. May, In the bill of sale..dated the 29th January, 1861, it was stated to be given by ‘J. D...gentleman’, Mr. Serjeant Petersdorff..called witnesses to show that Mr. D. was not ‘a gentleman’ at the time..and..contended..that the misdescription vitiated the deed. Mr. Justice Willes: A gentleman is described in law as a person who has no occupation.
d. jocularly. to be a gentleman: to have no work to do.
1859Darwin Let. 23 Oct. in Life & Lett. (1887) II. 175 Now I am so completely a gentleman, that I have sometimes a little difficulty to pass the day.
e. pl. Designation of a public convenience for male persons. Freq. gentlemen's, and with capital initial. Cf. gent n. b.
1929‘H. Green’ Living xviii. 213 ‘You go and leave them in the Gentlemen.’ ‘Leave 'em in the lavatory?’ 1933S. Frazer Acorned Hog 78 Over on that platform's the general waiting-room,..and over there's the Gentlemen's, and, any'ow, everythink's written up. 1934E. Waugh Handful of Dust iii. 117 ‘I tell you what I must do, is to telephone. Where is it?’ ‘D'you mean really the telephone or the gentlemen's?’ 1941J. Cary Herself Surprised xliv. 108 There are quays there and lamps and some squares of grass; a ladies and gentlemen, and a cinema.
5. a. In contemptuous or humorous uses; esp. old gentleman = old fellow, spec. the devil. my gentleman = ‘the fellow’. Also a euphemism for a smuggler.
1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d' Alf. i. 55 But afterwards perceiuing, that..this piece of hangings came to be seene..the copy of my Gentlemans countenance was quickly altered, and began suddenly to looke blanke. 1698Fryer Acc. E. Ind. & P. 311 That destructive custom of drinking Ice with their Liquors; which the Old Gentleman [Hippocrates] takes notice of to be of no good consequence. 1708Yalden Bickerstaff detected in Swift's Wks. (1755) II. i. 163, I..was surprized to find my gentleman mounted on a table with a two-foot rule..measuring my walls. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World (1757) 402 Our ship was in an instant full of these swarthy gentlemen quite naked. 1727De Foe Hist. Appar. (1729) 364 The Devil is not so black as he is painted, but that you may form such images of the old gentleman [etc.]. 1728Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. iv. i. 88 C. Bas. Well, the Devil fetch me [etc.]. Myr. And may the Black Gentleman tuck me under his Arm at the same time. 1810Anne Plumptre Resid. France I. xvii. 210 There is a certain old gentleman, whose name, we say in England, must not be pronounced in the hearing of polite ears. 1887G. R. Sims Mary Jane's Mem. 57 How the old gentleman am I to earn my living? 1893Earl Dunmore Pamirs II. 69 Nine rams..one of which had a very fine pair of horns, so I turned my particular attention to this old gentleman. 1906Kipling Puck of Pook's Hill 251 Watch the wall, my darling, while the Gentlemen go by! 1929G. Greene Man Within i. iv. 92 ‘You know who I am?’..‘One of the Gentlemen.’ 1966E. & M. A. Radford Death of ‘Gentleman’ xxii. 188 A smuggler..engaged in the Gentlemen's trade.
Phrase.1785Grose Dict. Vulg. Tongue s.v. Churl, To put a churl upon a gentleman; to drink malt liquor immediately after having drank wine.
b. gentleman's gentleman: a valet.
1725De Foe Everybody's Bus. (1841) 20 The complaints against the maids are as well masculine as feminine, and very applicable to our gentlemen's gentlemen. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. (1857) 35, I took down the name from his gentleman, Mr. O'Frizzle. [Said by a maid servant.] 1775Sheridan Rivals ii. ii, You gentlemen's gentlemen are so hasty. 1820Lady Granville Lett. (1894) I. 186 The gentlemen's gentlemen and two impudent Englishmen had been examined. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xliv, The footman told the circumstance as a good joke to Lord Steyne's coachman; that officer imparted it to Lord Steyne's gentleman, and to the servants' hall in general. 1886Mallock Old Order Changes I. 193 ‘Here's grandeur!’ said Mrs. Harley. ‘Maids, cockades, footmen and gentlemen's gentlemen!’
c. In humorous or slang phrases. † gentleman of the first head, gentleman of the first house: used as terms of contempt. the (old) gentleman in black: the Devil. the gentleman in black velvet: a mole (a Jacobite phrase, referring to the belief that the death of William III was caused by his horse's stumbling over a mole-hill). gentleman in brown: a bed-bug. gentleman in red: a soldier. gentleman of fortune: a pirate. gentleman of the road: (a) a highwayman; also ellipt. as gentleman; (b) a commercial traveller(c) a gypsy. gentleman of the short staff: a constable. gentleman of the three outs (see quots. 1785, 1830). † the gentleman that (or who) pays the rent (Obs.): a pig.
1611Cotgr., Gentilhomme de ville, a Gentleman of the first head, an vpstart Gentleman. a1625Fletcher Wom. Prize iv. i, But to be made..a Gentleman o' the first house For all my kindness to her. 1663Dryden Wild Gallant iii. i, I have not yet spoke with the gentleman in the black pantaloons; you know he seldom walks abroad by day-light. 1681― Sp. Friar v. ii, Ped. Gomez, give way to the old gentleman in black [the friar]. Gom. No! the t'other old gentleman in black shall take me if I do; I will speak first! 1718Entertainer 294 The Gentlemen of the Pad, and those that Rob on the Road, shall die at the Tree for Actions trifling..with respect to these. 1728Gay Begg. Op. iii. xvi. 57 The fine Gentlemen imitate the Gentlemen of the Road. 1774Lee in Burke's Corr. (1844) I. 513 We gentlemen in red never chose to remember that..the provincials never led the flight. 1778J. Wedgwood Let. 19 Mar. (1965) 218, I got some knowledge of the gentlemen..and sent some of my people in pursuit of them who soon brought me in two of the robbers. 1785Grose Dict. Vulg. Tongue, Gentlemen of three outs, i.e. without money, without wit, and without manners. 1805Mrs. Burke Secr. Cavern II. 29 Lady Letitia..had been bred in the stable with her brother's grooms, and carried the manners..the attitudes and looks of those gentlemen of the whip into all the circles where her rank gained her admittance. 1809[see road n. 5 b]. 1814Scott Wav. xi, The little gentleman in black velvet who did such service in 1702. 1830Lytton P. Clifford iv, A gentleman of three outs—‘out of pocket, out of elbows, and out of credit’. 1839H. Ainsworth J. Sheppard i. ii, In the language of the gentleman of the short staff. 1855Mrs. Gaskell Squire's Story in Novels & Tales (1873) IV. 228 Kate Hearn's husband collected his rents on the highway, like many another ‘gentleman’ of the day. 1869Trollope Vicar of Bullhampton v. xxix. 184 They had no coffee room at the Bull, and strangers who came that way were of necessity shown into that in which the gentlemen of the road were wont to relax themselves. 1883Stevenson Treas. Isl. ii. xi, By a ‘gentleman of fortune’ they plainly meant neither more nor less than a common pirate. 1885Sala in Daily Tel. 14 Aug. 5/3 Bed bugs..are the disagreeable insects known in modern polite English as ‘Norfolk Howards’, or ‘gentlemen in brown’. 1907G. B. Shaw J. Bull's Other Island iv. 80 The gintleman that pays the rint... They call a pig that in England. 1969K. Giles Death cracks Bottle viii. 96 ‘A survival of the gentlemen of the road—all little cads..today.’..‘I should say..that Mr Rumly is the best in the business of selling wines.’ 1969Radio Times 3 Apr. 9/1 Gentlemen of the Road—a study of the Gypsy way of life.
6. transf.
a. An apparatus used in soldering circular pewter ware (see quot.).
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2241 The work is supported on a revolving pedestal b, termed the gentleman, which may be adjusted by a side-screw to any desired hight.
b. The gannet or solan goose (Sula bassana).
1884–5Riverside Nat. Hist. (1888) IV. 188 Other names bestowed upon these birds [gannets] are ‘gentleman’ or ‘Jan van Gent’.
7. attrib. and Comb.:
a. used appositively in various designations referring to pursuits, professions, etc. to denote that the person so styled is of superior rank to those who ordinarily follow the same occupation; also as attribute (often contemptuous or sarcastic) to any personal designation; as gentleman-adventurer, gentleman-agent, gentleman-atheist, gentleman-beggar, gentleman-cadet, gentleman-covenanter, gentleman-dependant, gentleman-harbinger, gentleman-jailer, gentleman-jockey, gentleman-lacquey, gentleman-lodger, gentleman-murderer, gentleman-porter, gentleman-priest, gentleman-ranker, gentleman recusant, gentleman-rider, gentleman-scholar, gentleman-sewer, gentleman tradesman, gentleman-volunteer, gentleman-waiter; gentleman-cricketer, gentleman-player; see also gentleman-commoner, -farmer, -usher;
b. humorously for ‘male’, as in gentleman-hound, gentleman-turkey; gentleman friend, a beau; a boy-friend.
1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World Pref. 25 [Capt. Clipperton] often express'd himself with the greatest contempt of the *Gentlemen-Adventurers, who had entrusted him with so large a share in the conduct of so promising an Expedition. 1896R. Kipling Seven Seas, Last Chantey, Then said the souls of the gentlemen-adventurers..‘Ho, we revel in our chains O'er the sorrow that was Spain's.’
1711Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) III. 337 'Tis not immediately from God Himself, but thro' the magistrate..that these *gentlemen-agents are appointed..and set over us.
1664H. More Myst. Iniq. 508, I averre no more to the *Gentleman Atheist..touching the resurrection than [etc.].
1843H. Gavin Feigned Dis. Soldiers 11 This class comprehends the professed mendicant, whether vagrant or stationary, whether gipsy or *gentleman-beggar.
1775*Gentleman cadet [see cadet 3]. 1840in A. Ponsonby H. Ponsonby (1942) 19 Every one of the Masters speaks of Gentleman Cadet Ponsonby in very favourable terms. 1953E. Smith Guide Eng. Traditions 7 Up to 1939 those who gained high enough positions in the annual entrance examinations received (at their own expense) special military training as Gentleman Cadets at Sandhurst and Woolwich.
1639Drummond of Hawthornden Consid. to Parlt. Wks. (1711) 187 That it shall be lawful for all *gentlemen-covenanters to kiss all gentle⁓women at all assemblies.
1885F. Gale Life R. Grimston vi. 64 The M.C.C. was a small club..containing only from three to four hundred members, who were..all good *gentlemen cricketers.
1886W. J. Tucker E. Europe 174 When persons they consider their equals are beneath their roof, they have a strange way, peculiarly their own, of snubbing the *gentleman-dependent.
1829M. B. Smith Let. 27 Nov. in Forty Yrs. Washington Soc. (1906) 307 We have at least 6 or 7 young *gentlemen friends, who are frequently with us. 1894Somerville & ‘Ross’ Real Charlotte III. xxxvi. 50 She respected him, an emotion not hitherto awakened by a varied experience of ‘gentlemen friends’. 1935Marsh & Jellett Nursing-Home Murder xii. 187, I hope you were not very shocked at what my gentleman-friend said..? 1970R. Rendell Guilty Thing Surprised v. 58 My gentleman friend come in about seven.
1548W. Patten Exped. Scotl. H viij a, *Gentleman harbynger of y⊇ armie.
1843Lytton Last Bar. i. viii, The patient Mongrel carries off the bone from the *gentlemen-hounds.
1864A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock 75 They were led to the bar accompanied by the *gentleman-jailer.
1829Sporting Mag. XXIII. 265 That *gentleman-jockey..Lord George Germaine.
1726Amherst Terræ Fil. I. 2 We do not find upon record one instance of any *gentleman-lacquey, who was turn'd out of doors upon this account.
1678Dryden Limberham iii. i, There might be some *gentleman-lodger in the house.
1897Daily News 2 Dec. 8/1 Young Nicholson's dinner at Cabul with a company of *gentleman-murderers.
1823M. R. Mitford in Lady's Mag. July 386/1 A set match at Lord's ground for money..between a certain number of *gentlemen players, as they are called—people who make a trade of that noble sport. 1832P. Egan Bk. Sports 346/1 Who can beat twenty-two, with some wickets to spare, Of the gentlemen-players. 1906A. E. Knight Compl. Cricketer ix. 299 The real gentleman player has no love for these miserable..labels and distinctions.
1642in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 783 Drake and his Party went up to the *Gentleman-Porter, and demanded the Keys of the Gates.
1602T. Fitzherbert Apol. 5 a, Two rare *gentlemen Priests and religious learned fathers Southwel and Walpoole.
1890R. Kipling City Dreadf. Nt. 30 He who knows their composition [Calcutta European Police] knows some startling stories of *gentlemen-rankers.
1627in Crt. & Times Chas. I (1848) I. 285 We hear that the *gentlemen recusants of the loan shall shortly be set at liberty.
1843Lever J. Hinton ix. (1878) 56 That singular anomaly in our social condition, a *gentleman rider, ready upon any occasion to get into the saddle for any one that engaged his services.
1586W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 34 The learned company of *Gentlemen Schollers, and students of the Vniuersities, and Innes of Courte. 1748Chesterfield Lett. (1792) II. clxiv. 93 Those who have read the most Latin, write the worst; and this distinguishes the Latin of a gentleman scholar from that of a pedant.
a1618Raleigh Rem. (1644) 134 Demophon, which was *Gentleman-Sewer to Alexander.
1727De Foe Eng. Tradesman (1732) I. xii. 146 It is the ordinary excuse of the *gentlemen tradesmen of our times, that they have good servants.
1855S. A. Hammett Adv. Capt. Priest xvi. 111 A pugnacious *gentleman turkey.
1800Asiat. Ann. Reg., Char. 35/2 He..received the allowance of a *gentleman volunteer, a character at this time common in Portugueze India.
1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 142 They which were wont to be called Pantlers, Tasters and Carvers, are now called *Gentlemen Wayters of the Court.
c. gentlemen's (or -man's) agreement orig. U.S., an agreement which is not enforceable at law, and which is only binding as a matter of honour; Gentleman's Relish, the proprietary name of a savoury paste (paste n. 1 d).
1929Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking vi. 201 What we had better do is to have a gentleman's agreement. 1930Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Feb. 153/3 By a gentleman's agreement—if one may use such a term when speaking of ruffians who now have not even courage to commend them—rival gangs enjoyed the monopoly of trade in different districts. 1931J. K. Winkler Morgan the Magnificent vii. 107 In 1886..was the first of a series of memorable dinner-table conferences. At them were formulated so-called ‘gentlemen's agreements’. 1971Lord Avon in Listener 7 Oct. 472/1 I'd made an agreement with Mussolini which he'd dubbed ‘the Gentlemen's Agreement’, by which we were both going to observe certain conditions about Spain.
1907Trade Marks Jrnl. 17 Apr. 676 Patum Peperium The Gentleman's Relish... For Toast, Biscuits, &c. London. Potted Meat. Charles Augustus Osborn..Manufacturer. 1918H. G. Wells Joan & Peter ix. 291 Perhaps a sandwich, Gentleman's Relish or shrimp paste. 1950Trade Marks Jrnl. 6 Dec. 1033/1 The Gentleman's Relish. Food pastes consisting principally of anchovy extracts. C. Osborn & Company Limited..Manufacturers. 1966‘K. Nicholson’ Hook, Line & Sinker v. 61 There was woodcock pâté, Gentleman's Relish, home-made black cherry jam.
Hence ˈgentlemaning vbl. n., the action of playing the gentleman; ˈgentlemanism, ‘the state of being a gentleman, the affectation of gentlemanliness’ (Ogilvie 1882); ˈgentlemaˌnize v., to make into a gentleman. nonce-wds.
1833Fraser's Mag. VIII. 709 Our nobility must have their menials all gentlemanised. 1885Howells S. Lapham ii, Yes; gentlemaning as a profession has got to play out in a generation or two. 1898G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 29 Jan. 139/1 The dream⁓fed gentlemanism of the age which Shakespear inaugurated in English literature.
▸ gentleman's C n. (also gentlemen's C) U.S. an academic grade of C, as said to be (undeservedly) awarded to a student of high social status and low academic ambitions.
[1907Educ. Rev. Apr. 386 The saying that ‘C is a gentleman's grade’ is evidently an imperfect defense for the idler in Harvard College.] 1922C. Britten in H. E. Stearns Civilization in U.S. 127 He crams through a few febrile nights of cloistral deprivations and flagellations; and the sun shines again on his harvest of gentlemen's C's. 1952L. W. Ferguson Personality Measurem. xv. 400 A person who decides that he is going ‘to make’ Phi Beta Kappa has a higher level of aspiration that the student who decides he is going to be satisfied with a gentleman's C average. 2000New Yorker 24 Apr. 18/2 The ‘gentleman's C’ of yesteryear has magically turned into a B-plus today, thanks to the craven indifference of Ivy League professors. |