Standard Lemma guide

gentlefolk

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩fəʊk/
  • Received-Pronunciation: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩ˌfoʊk/
  • General-American: [ˈd͡ʒɛɾ̃l̩-]

1

noun

Meaning 1

People of superior social position.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, plural, plural-only

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: aristocrats, the high-born, upper class

Antonyms: the low-born, lower class

2

noun

Meaning 2

people of good family and breeding and high social status

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: folk, folks, common people

History

Etymology

From gentle (“(archaic) well-born; of a good family or respectable birth”) + folk.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: herrasväki — people of superior social position
  • Irish: daoine uasal — people of superior social position
  • Italian: aristocratico — people of superior social position
  • Polish: szlachetnie urodzeni — people of superior social position
  • Scottish Gaelic: daoine uasal — people of superior social position
  • Swedish: fint folk — people of superior social position
  • Swedish: herrskap — people of superior social position
  • Ukrainian: па́нство (pánstvo) — people of superior social position