gentry: Meaning and Definition of

gen•try

Pronunciation: ( jen'trē), [key]
— n.
  1. wellborn and well-bred people.
  2. (in England) the class below the nobility.
  3. an upper or ruling class; aristocracy.
  4. those who are not members of the nobility but are entitled to a coat of arms, esp. those owning large tracts of land.
  5. people, esp. considered as a specific group, class, or kind: The polo crowd doesn't go there, but these hockey gentry do.
  6. the state or condition of being a gentleman.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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