Definition of "gentility" []

• The quality of being well-mannered; refinement. (noun)
• The condition of being born to the gentry. (noun)
• Persons of high social standing considered as a group. (noun)
• An attempt to convey or maintain the appearance of refinement and elegance. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I said that my country-folk in general had a great many admirable qualities, but at the same time a great many foibles, foremost amongst which last was a crazy admiration for what they called gentility, which made them sycophantic to their superiors in station, and extremely insolent to those whom they considered below them."
• "The generality of his countrymen are far more careful not to transgress the customs of what they call gentility, than to violate the laws of honour or morality."
• "The generality of his countrymen are far more careful not to transgress the customs of what they call gentility than to violate the laws of honour or morality."