gentle reader

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• gentle reader — noun Courteous reader, an old fashioned phrase common in the prefaces of books • • • Main Entry: ↑gentle …   Useful english dictionary

• gentle reader — kind reader (form of address used by an author when addressing a reader) …   English contemporary dictionary

• Gentle — Gen tle, a. [Compar. {Gentler}; superl. {Gentlest}.] [OE. gentil, F. gentil noble, pretty, graceful, fr. L. gentilis of the same clan or race, fr. gens, gentis, tribe, clan, race, orig. that which belongs together by birth, fr. the root of genere …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• gentle — [jent′ l] adj. gentler, gentlest [ME gentil < OFr, of noble birth < L gentilis, of the same gens (in LL, of a good family) < gens: see GENS] 1. belonging to the upper classes or polite society 2. like or suitable to polite society;… …   English World dictionary

• gentle —    Formerly a vocative in its own right, especially in the plural when it was used to address a group of nobles or gentlemen and gentlewomen. Examples of such usage occur in, e.g., The Merry Wives of Windsor (3:ii) and Henry the Fifth (l:i). The… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

• gentle — gentleness, n. gently, adv. /jen tl/, adj., gentler, gentlest, v., gentled, gentling. adj. 1. kindly; amiable: a gentle manner. 2. not severe, rough, or violent; mild: a gentle wind; a gentle tap on the shoulder. 3. moderate: gentle heat. 4 …   Universalium

• gentle — [13] Expressions like ‘of gentle birth’, and related forms such as gentility [14] and gentleman [13] point up the original link between gentle and ‘family, stock, birth’. The word comes via Old French gentil from Latin gentīlis, a derivative of… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

• gentle — [13] Expressions like ‘of gentle birth’, and related forms such as gentility [14] and gentleman [13] point up the original link between gentle and ‘family, stock, birth’. The word comes via Old French gentil from Latin gentīlis, a derivative of… …   Word origins

• gentle — I. adjective (gentler; gentlest) Etymology: Middle English gentil, from Anglo French, from Latin gentilis of a gens, of one s family, from gent , gens gens, nation; akin to Latin gignere to beget more at kin Date: 13th century 1. a. belonging to… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

• Reader's Digest Condensed Books — were a series of anthology books, available by subscription and originally published quarterly (the frequency of publication went through several changes over the years), by Reader s Digest. Each volume consisted of three to five current… …   Wikipedia

• The gentle craft — Gentle Gen tle, a. [Compar. {Gentler}; superl. {Gentlest}.] [OE. gentil, F. gentil noble, pretty, graceful, fr. L. gentilis of the same clan or race, fr. gens, gentis, tribe, clan, race, orig. that which belongs together by birth, fr. the root of …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English