genteelifyv.
/dʒɛnˈtiːlᵻfʌɪ/, U.S. /dʒɛnˈtiləˌfaɪ/ rare.† 1. intransitive. To become genteel. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
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.
ΚΠ
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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v.1834- to join the banner of
- to join the battle
- to join the colours
- to join the dots
- to join the flats
- to join the great majority
- to join the ladies
- to join the majority
- to join the silent majority
- to join the standard of
- to join to marriage
- to join unity
- to join up
- to join, lay loggerheads together
- to joint a person's nose of
- to jostle one's way
- to jot down
- to journey it
- to joust of war
- to judge a book by its cover
- to judge by
- to judge from
- to judge to death
- to judge to the worse
- to jump a bounty