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gentry definition

gen·try (jen′trē)

noun

  1. Obsolete rank resulting from birth; esp., high rank
  2. people of high social standing; esp., in Great Britain, the class of landowning people ranking just below the nobility
  3. people of a particular class or group the newspaper gentry

Etymology: ME genterie, noble or high birth; prob. taken as sing. of genterise, gentility of birth < OFr, var. of gentilise < gentil: see gentle

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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