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Definition of "gentlewoman" []

  • A woman of gentle or noble birth or superior social position. (noun)
  • A well-mannered and considerate woman with high standards of proper behavior. (noun)
  • A woman acting as a personal attendant to a lady of rank. (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.

Use "gentlewoman" in a sentence
  • "The good old lady admired the word gentlewoman of all others in the English vocabulary, and made all around her feel that such was her rank."
  • "In spite of the disguising plainness of my dress, I suppose the word gentlewoman was clearly stamped upon me."
  • "Now all this while my good old nurse, Mrs. Mayoress, and all the rest of them did not understand me at all, for they meant one sort of thing by the word gentlewoman, and I meant quite another; for alas! all I understood by being a gentlewoman was to be able to work for myself, and get enough to keep me without that terrible bugbear going to service, whereas they meant to live great, rich and high, and I know not what."