gentile

[ jen-tahyl ]
See synonyms for gentile on Thesaurus.com
adjective(sometimes initial capital letter)
  1. of or relating to any people not Jewish.

  2. Christian, as distinguished from Jewish.

  1. Mormon Church. not Mormon.

  2. heathen or pagan.

  3. (of a linguistic expression) expressing nationality or local origins.

  4. of or relating to a tribe, clan, people, nation, etc.

noun
  1. a person who is not Jewish, especially a Christian.

  2. (among Mormons) a person who is not a Mormon.

  1. a heathen or pagan.

Origin of gentile

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin gentīlis, from gent-, stem of gēns gens + -īlis -ile

Other words from gentile

  • non·gen·tile, adjective, noun
  • pro-Gentile, adjective, noun
  • un·gen·tile, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for gentile (1 of 3)

gentile

/ (ˈdʒɛntaɪl) /


adjective
  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

Origin of gentile

1
C14: from Late Latin gentīlis, from Latin: one belonging to the same tribe or family; see gens

British Dictionary definitions for Gentile (2 of 3)

Gentile1

/ (ˈdʒɛntaɪl) /


noun
  1. a person who is not a Jew

  2. a Christian, as contrasted with a Jew

  1. a person who is not a member of one's own church: used esp by Mormons

  2. a heathen or pagan

adjective
  1. of or relating to a race or religion that is not Jewish

  2. Christian, as contrasted with Jewish

  1. not being a member of one's own church: used esp by Mormons

  2. pagan or heathen

British Dictionary definitions for Gentile (3 of 3)

Gentile2

/ (Italian dʒenˈtiːle) /


noun
  1. Giovanni (dʒoˈvanni). 1875–1944, Italian Idealist philosopher and Fascist politician: minister of education (1922–24)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Gentile

Gentile

Someone who is not a Jew (see also Jews). “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.”

Notes for Gentile

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament tell of numerous conflicts between Jews and Gentiles. Figuratively, a “gentile” is any nonbeliever.

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