gentlefolk
Syllables: gen·tle·folk/ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩fəʊk/US/ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩ˌfoʊk/
gentlefolk noun: people of superior social position.
Noun
gentlefolk pl (plural only)
- People of superior social position.
- We ſay that Shores wife hath a prety foote, / A cherry lippe, a bonny eie, a paſſing pleaſing tongue: / And that the Queenes kindred are made gentlefolks.c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Sims [and Peter Short] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC...
- Well, Gentlefolk, I dare now wage a Crown, / You take me for the verieſt Romp in Town,— / But ere I part from ye, I'll let you ſee, / There's other Molly Buxomes beſides me; [...]1729, [Thomas] d’Urfey, “[The Comical History of Don Quixote. With the Marriage of Mary the Buxome. Part III.] Epilogue, by Mary the Buxome”, in The Comical History of Don Quixote. […], London...
- Synonyms:
- aristocrats, the high-born, upper class
- Antonyms:
- the low-born, lower class
Examples of gentlefolk in a sentence
- What do gentlefolks come to an inn for, if it is not for entertainment and accommodation?1808 October 1, “Mrs. Bell’s Petition”, in The Satirist, or Monthly Meteor, volume III, London: Printed for Samuel Tipper, […]; T. Gillet...
- What was it to her what gentlefolks ate or drank, provided they paid for it honestly?1822, [Walter Scott], chapter IX, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst...
- "Ah!" she said, with a little cry of disappointment, "my man said not to make too sure, and that the ways of the gentlefolks is hard to know."1885 January, [Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant], “The Portrait. A Story of the Seen and the Unseen.”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine...
- This story deals with gentlefolk, or with those who are obliged to pretend that they are gentlefolk.1908–1910 (date written; published 1910 October 18), E[dward] M[organ] Forster, “Leonard and Jacky”, in Howards End, 1st American edition...
Synonyms of gentlefolk
- aristocrats
- the high-born
- upper class
Antonyms
- the low-born
- lower class
Forms of gentlefolk
| alternative form | gentlefolks |
|---|
Origin of gentlefolk
From gentle (“(archaic) well-born; of a good family or respectable birth”) + folk.
Questions about gentlefolk
- What does gentlefolk mean?
- Gentlefolk means people of superior social position.
- How do you use gentlefolk in a sentence?
- What do gentlefolks come to an inn for, if it is not for entertainment and accommodation?
- What part of speech is gentlefolk?
- Gentlefolk is a noun.
- How do you pronounce gentlefolk?
- Gentlefolk is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩fəʊk/ (UK).
Words near gentlefolk in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gentlefolk (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-AcpoKrane-gentlefolk.wav.
Cite this entry: “gentlefolk.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gentlefolk. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.