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gentile

 [jen-tahyl]   Example Sentences Origin

gen·tile

   [jen-tahyl]
adjective (sometimes initial capital letter)
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.
EXPAND
6.
of or pertaining to a tribe, clan, people, nation, etc.
COLLAPSE
noun
7.
a person who is not Jewish, especially a Christian.
8.
(among Mormons) a person who is not a Mormon.
9.
a heathen or pagan.

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Gentile is a GRE word you need to know.
So is generic. Does it mean:
applicable to all the members of a group
well-bred or refined
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Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin gentīlis, equivalent to gent-, stem of gēns gens + -īlis -ile

Related forms
non·gen·tile, adjective, noun
pro-Gen·tile, adjective, noun
un·gen·tile, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To gentile
Example Sentences
  • Gentile said it was appropriate to use public funds but that his office's general funds should have been used.
  • But gentile visitors of a century ago felt they had been transported to a foreign country.
  • Gentile requested the release yesterday of grand jury minutes on a woman's death in police custody.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
gentile (ˈdʒɛntaɪl)
 
—adj
1.  denoting an adjective or proper noun used to designate a place or the inhabitants of a place, as Spanish and Spaniard
2.  of or relating to a tribe or people
 
[C14: from Late Latin gentīlis, from Latin: one belonging to the same tribe or family; see gens]

Gentile1 (ˈdʒɛntaɪl)
 
—n
1.  a person who is not a Jew
2.  a Christian, as contrasted with a Jew
3.  a person who is not a member of one's own church: used esp by Mormons
4.  a heathen or pagan
 
—adj
5.  of or relating to a race or religion that is not Jewish
6.  Christian, as contrasted with Jewish
7.  not being a member of one's own church: used esp by Mormons
8.  pagan or heathen

Gentile2 (Italian dʒenˈtiːle)
 
—n
Giovanni (dʒoˈvanni). 1875--1944, Italian Idealist philosopher and Fascist politician: minister of education (1922--24)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

gentile
1160, from L.L. gentilis "foreign, heathen, pagan," from L. gentilis "person belonging to the same family, fellow countryman," from gentilis (adj.) "of the same family or clan," from gens (gen. gentis) "race, clan" (see gentle). Used in Vulgate to translate Gk. ethnikos,
EXPAND
from ta ethne "the nations," which translated Heb. ha goyim "the (non-Jewish) nations." Used during 14c. to mean both "one who is not a Christian" and "one who is not a Jew."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

Gentile definition


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.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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