noun.
A man of good family; a man of good or gentle birth; in England, specifically, any man above the social rank of yeoman, including noblemen; in a more limited sense, a man who without a title bears a coat of arms, or whose ancestors have been freemen; one of the class holding a middle rank between the nobility and yeomanry.
noun.
In a loose sense, any man whose breeding, education, occupation, or income raises him above menial service or an ordinary trade.
noun.
A man of good breeding, courtesy, and kindness; hence, a man distinguished for fine sense of honor, strict regard for his obligations, and consideration for the rights and feelings of others.
noun.
As a polite form of speech, a man in general; any man, but particularly, where discrimination is used, any man of respectable appearance or good manners; in the plural, a form of address to a company of men, or to all the men in an audience: as, welcome, gentlemen; ladies and gentlemen.
noun.
The body-servant or personal attendant of a man of rank.
noun.
An apparatus used in soldering circular pewter ware. It is a revolving pedestal, adjustable by a side-screw to any height.
noun.
[Perhaps an adaptation of another name of the same bird, Jan van Gent.] The white gannet or solan goose, Sula bassana.
noun.
An invalid or disabled soldier who made his living by begging.