genteelifyv.
/dʒɛnˈtiːlᵻfʌɪ/, U.S. /dʒɛnˈtiləˌfaɪ/ rare.† 1. intransitive. To become genteel. Obsolete.
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1834 Tait's Edinb. Mag. New Ser. 1 609/2 Mrs. Mark Luke had genteelified and absolutely refined more in one season, than in some half-a-dozen former years of stinted appliances.
2. transitive. To make (a person or thing) genteel.
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1839 E. Wedgwood Let. 23 Jan. in C. Darwin Corr. (2000) II. 169 She has a great deal of natural wit about her & if she would genteelify herself a little would be remarkably agreeable.
1857 W. Brockie Family Names of Folks of Shields 51 Hymers and Hindmarch, originally Hymner and Hymners; first corrupted into Hymers,..and subsequently genteelified into Hindmarch.
1984 Listener 8 Nov. 42/3 People who would ruin the expression ‘box clever’ by genteelifying it into ‘box cleverly’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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