genteel

/dʒenˈtil/jen-TEEL

/dʒɛnˈtil/jen-TEEL

Meaningof good birth

Common meaning: polite and refined, sometimes too much so

genteelbirth, descent, race; a typeLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 810 · scan

Journey through time

Latingentilis‘of the same clan’source
Frenchgentil‘well-born’source
Englishgenteel‘polite and refined, sometimes too much so’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin genus ‘birth, descent, race’.

Roots

genus, generis Latin “birth, descent, race; a type”

Related words

carcinogen congenital cryogenic degenerate engender generate generic genius genuine genus heterogeneous heterogeneously

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