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One of an honorable band of gentlemen who attend the sovereign of England on state occasions, and receive an annual pension, or allowance, of £150 and two horses.

Strict devotion; also, affectation of devotion. The Schöne Seele, that ideal of gentle pietism, in "Wilhelm Meister." W. Pater.

Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle. "That placid aspect and meek regard." Milton. "Sleeping . . . the placid sleep of infancy." Macaulay.

Affectedly nice; foppish; -- used in an ill sense. The pretty gentleman is the most complaisant in the world. Spectator.

or off. Who pricketh his blind horse over the fallows. Chaucer. The season pricketh every gentle heart. Chaucer. My duty pricks me on to utter that. Shak.

Large and rounded. [Obs.] A gentle stream, whose murmuring wave did play Amongst the pumy stones. Spenser.

A gentle murmur, as that produced by the running of a liquid among obstructions; as, the purl of a brook.

former owners their rights. Then as a tiger, who by chance hath spied In some purlieu two gentle fawns at play. Milton.

sion. -- To put to it, to distress; to press hard; to perplex; to give difficulty to. "O gentle lady, do not put me to 't." Shak. -- To put to rights, to arrange in proper order; to settle or compose rightly. -- To put to the sword, to kill with the sword; to slay. -- To put to trial, or on trial, to bring to a tes…

eld or cease; as, to quell grief; to quell the tumult of the soul. Much did his words the gentle lady quell. Spenser.

Not giving offense; not exciting disorder or trouble; not turbulent; gentle; mild; meek; contented. The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. 1 Pet. iii. 4. I will sit as quiet as a lamb. Shak.

s, to raise from a low estate; to raise to office; to raise the price, and the like. This gentleman came to be raised to great titles. Clarendon. The plate pieces of eight were raised three pence in the piece. Sir W. Temple.

d; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton. New-laid eggs, which Baucis' busy care Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare. Dryden.

for evil; to punish. He can requite thee; for he knows the charma That call fame on such gentle acts as these. Milton. Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand. Ps. x. 14.

To commit to the care of; to consign. [Obs.] Gentlement of quality have been sent beyong the seas, resigned and concredited to the conduct of such as they call governors. Evelyn.

Hence, figuratively, lacking refinement, gentleness, or polish. Specifically:

Same as Round of beef, below. Gentlemen of the round. (a) Gentlemen soldiers of low rank who made the rounds. See 10 (a), above. (b) Disbanded soldiers who lived by begging. [Obs.] Worm-eaten gentlemen of the round, such as have vowed to sit on the skirts of the city, let your provost and his half dozen of halberdiers…

ss; a violent motion or course; as, a rush of troops; a rush of winds; a rush of water. A gentleman of his train spurred up his horse, and, with a violent rush, severed him from the duke. Sir H. Wotton.

Poetic] "They weep for ruth." Chaucer. "Have ruth of the poor." Piers Plowman. To stir up gentle ruth, Both for her noble blood, and for her tender youth. Spenser.

ding, for exhibiting a spectacle upon, for holding the spectators at a show, etc. Pardon, gentles all, The flat, unraised spirits that have dared On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth So great an object. Shak.