gentil
French
adj
Definitions
- helpful, kind
- pleasant, amiable, nice
- attractive, pretty; also derogative, in the sense of superficial, esp. in the arts
- (idiomatic) all very well (c'est bien gentil tout ça, mais "that's all very well, but")
- well behaved, good (especially but not only about children, in the sense of good boy/girl)
- fairly large, nice, tidy
Etymology
Inherited from Old French gentil (high-born, noble) borrowed from Latin gentīlis (of a people nation, of non-gloss definition, of belonging to the same people nation, belonging to the same family).
Origin
Latin
gentīlis
Gloss
of a people nation, of non-gloss definition, of belonging to the same people nation, belonging to the same family
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- Gentile English
- antigentile English
- genteel English
- genteelish English
- genteelism English
- genteelize English
- genteelly English
- genteelness English
- gentile English
- gentilise English
- gentilish English
- gentilize English
- ultragenteel English
- ungenteel English
- gentilis Latin
- gentilis, gentīlis Latin
- gentilitas Latin
- gentiliter Latin
- gentilitus Latin
- gentīlis Latin
- gentil German
- Gentileschi Italian
- gentile Italian
- gentilhomme French
- gentilhommière French
- gentillesse French
- gentillet French
- gentillâtre French
- gentiment French
- homme French
- gentil Spanish, Castilian
- *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European
- *ǵénh₁- Proto-Indo-European
- gentil Middle English
- gentilicius Old Norse
- gentil Old French
- gentillesce Old French
- gentil Catalan, Valencian
- genti Norman
- גוי Hebrew (modern)
- gentil Old Portuguese