[jen-tahyl] 
) | 1. | of or pertaining to any people not Jewish. |
| 2. | Christian, as distinguished from Jewish. |
| 3. | Mormon Church. not Mormon. |
| 4. | heathen or pagan. |
| 5. | (of a linguistic expression) expressing nationality or local origins. |
| 6. | of or pertaining to a tribe, clan, people, nation, etc. |
| 7. | a person who is not Jewish, esp. a Christian. |
| 8. | (among Mormons) a person who is not a Mormon. |
| 9. | a heathen or pagan. |
| gen·tile (jěn'tīl') n. often Gentile
[Middle English gentil, from Late Latin gentīlis, pagan, from Latin, of the same clan; see gentle.] |
Someone who is not a Jew. “The nations” is the common expression in the Old Testament for non-Jews as a group, and a Gentile is a person belonging to “the nations.”
Note: Both the Old Testament and the New Testament tell of numerous conflicts between Jews and Gentiles. Figuratively, a “gentile” is any nonbeliever.
Gentiles
(Heb., usually in plural, goyim), meaning in general all nations except the Jews. In course of time, as the Jews began more and more to pride themselves on their peculiar privileges, it acquired unpleasant associations, and was used as a term of contempt. In the New Testament the Greek word Hellenes, meaning literally Greek (as in Acts 16:1, 3; 18:17; Rom. 1:14), generally denotes any non-Jewish nation.
