gentlewoman

G2E1N1T1L1E1W4O1M3A1N1
/ˈd͡ʒɛn.təlˌwʊm.ən/

noun

A woman of the nobility.

Similar
damemadamma'amlady
OriginMiddle English gentilwoman →
Less commonScrabble 17
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noungentlewoman (plural gentlewomen)

plural gentlewomen

  1. historicalA woman of the nobility.

    Gentlewoman: Since his majesty went into the field, I have seen her rise from her bed, throw her night-gown upon[…]

    c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]
  2. USgovernmentA female member of a legislature, especially a female member of a House of Representatives.

    'The gentlewoman from California.' Or 'the gentlewoman from Texas.' Gentlewoman?

    1998 December 11, “GENTLEWOMEN AND GENTLEMEN DON'T SAY 'LADY'”, in Daily Press

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna woman of refinement

Similar
damemadamma'amlady
Broader
womanadult female
Also see
damegentlegirlladyma'ammadam

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishgentilwoman
  2. Englishgentlewoman

From Middle English gentilwoman, modelled after gentilman (“gentleman”), equivalent to gentle + -woman.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 命婦 /命妇
  • 命婦 /命妇 (mìngfù)woman of the nobility
Greek κυρία, αρχοντογυναίκα
  • κυρία (kyría)woman of the nobility
  • αρχοντογυναίκα (archontogynaíka)woman of the nobility
Irish bean uasal
  • bean uasalwoman of the nobility
Māori wahine mārire, mareikura
  • wahine mārirewoman of the nobility
  • mareikurawoman of the nobility
Spanish hidalga, hijadalgo
  • hidalgawoman of the nobility
  • hijadalgowoman of the nobility
  • fidalga (disused)woman of the nobility
  • fijadalgo (disused)woman of the nobility
  • hija de algowoman of the nobility
Thai สุภาพสตรี, กุลสตรี
  • สุภาพสตรี (sù-pâap-sà-dtrii)woman of the nobility
  • กุลสตรี (gun-lá-sà-dtrii)woman of the nobility
Cite this entry
APA

gentlewoman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gentlewoman

MLA

“gentlewoman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gentlewoman. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gentlewoman,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gentlewoman.

Source: gentlewoman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.