Hypertext Webster Gateway: "gentry"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Gentry \Gen"try\, n. [OE. genterie, gentrie, noble birth,
nobility, cf. gentrise, and OF. gentelise, genterise, E.
gentilesse, also OE. genteleri high-mindedness. See {Gent},
a., {Gentle}, a.]
1. Birth; condition; rank by birth. [Obs.] ``Pride of
gentrie.'' --Chaucer.
She conquers him by high almighty Jove, By
knighthood, gentry, and sweet friendship's oath.
--Shak.
2. People of education and good breeding; in England, in a
restricted sense, those between the nobility and the
yeomanry. --Macaulay.
3. Courtesy; civility; complaisance. [Obs.]
To show us so much gentry and good will. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
gentry
n : the most powerful members of a society [syn: {aristocracy}]
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