different between gentle vs gracious
gentle
English
Etymology
From Middle English gentil (“courteous, noble”), from Old French gentil (“high-born, noble”), from Latin gentilis (“of the same family or clan”), from gens (“[Roman] clan”). Doublet of gentile and genteel.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?d??ntl?/
- (General American) enPR: j?n?tl, IPA(key): /?d??ntl?/, [?d??????l?]
- Hyphenation: gen?tle
Adjective
gentle (comparative gentler or more gentle, superlative gentlest or most gentle)
- Tender and amiable; of a considerate or kindly disposition.
- Soft and mild rather than hard or severe.
- Docile and easily managed.
- a gentle horse
- Gradual rather than steep or sudden.
- Polite and respectful rather than rude.
- (archaic) Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble.
- 1823, Walter Scott, Peveril of the Peak
- "You are of gentle blood," she said […]
- 1893-1897, Charles Kendal Adams (editor), Johnsons Universal Encyclopedia
- British society is divided into nobility, gentry, and yeomanry, and families are either noble, gentle, or simple.
- 1823, Walter Scott, Peveril of the Peak
Synonyms
- (polite): friendly, kind, polite, respectful
Antonyms
- (polite): rude
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
gentle (third-person singular simple present gentles, present participle gentling, simple past and past participle gentled)
- (intransitive) to become gentle
- 2013, Kathryn L.M. Reynolds, Garland Roses, Kathryn L.M. Reynolds (?ISBN), page 226
- “She's experienced a horrific and nasty scare and is in a state of shock, but otherwise she's relatively okay.” Conrad replied, his tone at first grim (as he recalled what he'd seen in the family room) and then it gentled to a more doctorial tone as he directed his next comments to his patient.
- 2013, Kathryn L.M. Reynolds, Garland Roses, Kathryn L.M. Reynolds (?ISBN), page 226
- (transitive, obsolete) to ennoble
- c. 1599, Henry V, by Shakespeare, Act IV Scene III
- […] For he to-day that sheds his blood with me / Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, / This day shall gentle his condition […]
- c. 1599, Henry V, by Shakespeare, Act IV Scene III
- (transitive, animal husbandry) to break; to tame; to domesticate
- 2008, Frank Leslie, The Killing Breed, Penguin (?ISBN)
- Yakima could have tried to catch him, gentle him as Wolf had been gentled, but having two stallions in his cavvy would lead to a different kind of trouble.
- 2008, Frank Leslie, The Killing Breed, Penguin (?ISBN)
- (transitive) To soothe; to calm; to make gentle.
- 1996, William C. Loring, An American Romantic-realist Abroad: Templeton Strong and His Music, Scarecrow Press (?ISBN), page 201
- A hornist, his playing gentled by perspective, is out of sight within the woods, but his notes are heard through or over the murmuring mix of bird song and breeze in leaves.
- 1996, William C. Loring, An American Romantic-realist Abroad: Templeton Strong and His Music, Scarecrow Press (?ISBN), page 201
Noun
gentle (plural gentles)
- (archaic) A person of high birth.
- 2012, Lizzie Stark, Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games, Chicago Review Press (?ISBN), page 43:
- While actual medieval societies were full of lots of peasants and a few rich and noble gentles, SCA personas tend to be nobles rather than commoners.
- 2012, Lizzie Stark, Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games, Chicago Review Press (?ISBN), page 43:
- (fishing) A maggot used as bait by anglers.
- A trained falcon, or falcon-gentil.
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gracious
English
Alternative forms
- gratious (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English gracious, from Old French gracieus, from Latin gratiosus, from gratia (“esteem, favor”). See grace. Displaced native Old English hold (“gracious”). Doublet of gracioso and grazioso.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /???e???s/
- Rhymes: -e???s
Adjective
gracious (comparative more gracious, superlative most gracious)
- kind and warmly courteous
- tactful
- compassionate
- indulgent, charming and graceful
- elegant and with good taste
- benignant
- full of grace
Derived terms
- graciousness
- graciously
See also
- graceful
Translations
Interjection
gracious
- Expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, boredom, or frustration.
Synonyms
- (expression of surprise): See Thesaurus:wow
Middle English
Alternative forms
- gracyous, gracyows, gracyouse, gracius, gracieux, gratious, gratius
Etymology
From Old French gracious, from Latin gr?ti?sus. Equivalent to grace +? -ous.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?ra?si?u?s/, /?ra??sju?s/, /??ra?sius/, /??ra?sjus/, /??ra?sj?s/
Adjective
gracious (plural and weak singular graciouse, comparative graciouser, superlative graciousest)
- kind, gracious, polite
- forgiving, relenting (used mainly positively)
- godly, Christian, involving the graciousness of God.
- lucky, glad; bestowed with good fortune.
- enjoyable, nice, pleasing.
- good-looking; pleasing to the eye.
- obedient, respectworthy
- (rare) useful, beneficious
Derived terms
- graciously
- graciousnesse
Descendants
- English: gracious
- Scots: gracious
- Yola: graacuse
References
- “gr?ci?us, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-14.
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