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genteel - 4 dictionary results

gen⋅teel

  [jen-teel]
Use genteel in a Sentence
–adjective
1. belonging or suited to polite society.
2. well-bred or refined; polite; elegant; stylish.
3. affectedly or pretentiously polite, delicate, etc.
Origin:
1590–1600; < F gentil; see gentle

Related forms:
gen⋅teel⋅ly, adverb
gen⋅teel⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To genteel
gen·teel   (jěn-tēl')   
adj.  
  1. Refined in manner; well-bred and polite.
  2. Free from vulgarity or rudeness.
  3. Elegantly stylish: genteel manners and appearance.
    1. Striving to convey a manner or appearance of refinement and respectability. See Synonyms at polite.
    2. Marked by affected and somewhat prudish refinement.

[French gentil, from Old French; see gentle.]
gen·teel'ly adv., gen·teel'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Genteel

Gen*teel"\, a. [F. gentil noble, pretty, graceful. See Gentle.]

1. Possessing or exhibiting the qualities popularly regarded as belonging to high birth and breeding; free from vulgarity, or lowness of taste or behavior; adapted to a refined or cultivated taste; polite; well-bred; as, genteel company, manners, address.

2. Graceful in mien or form; elegant in appearance, dress, or manner; as, the lady has a genteel person. Law.

3. Suited to the position of lady or a gentleman; as, to live in a genteel allowance.

Syn: Polite; well-bred; refined; polished.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : genteel
Spanish: refinado, fino, distinguido; (peyorativo) afectado, cursi,
German: vornehm tun,
Japanese: 気どった
More Translations »

genteel 
1599, from M.Fr. gentil "nice, graceful, pleasing," from O.Fr. "high-born, noble;" a reborrowing of the word that had early come into Eng. as gentle (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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