gentlefolkn.
/ˈdʒɛntlfəʊk/, U.S. /ˈdʒɛn(t)əlˌfoʊk/ In singular and (colloquial or nonstandard) plural.
1. People of high birth or rank. Also: people having the characteristics traditionally associated with high social standing; courteous or honourable people. Cf. gentle-people n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > gentry > [noun] > gentlefolk
gentlesc1405
gentlefolka1556
genteels1652
gentle-people1755
carriage company1812
carriage1819
gentilities1833
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) iii. iii. sig. E.jv Backe sir sauce, let gentlefolkes haue elbowe roome.
1602 W. Whately View & Down-fall of Pride vi. 47 Silkes and veluets would not be in so great request, nor the Countrie cloyed with so many singlefolde gentlefolke, carrying more vpon their backes needlesse at once, then would comfort the poore at theyr boordes a whole moneth.
1646 J. Vicars Schismatick Sifted 12 They..were fitted with all conveniences for themselves and their families; had brave company with them, Gentlefolke of none of the meanest rank and quality.
1787 M. Cutler Jrnl. 16 July in Life, Jrnls. & Corr. (1888) I. 288 Freeman and his wife seem to be what we call in our country [sc. New England] very great Gentlefolks.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Lett. 1 Aug. Many hundreds of gentle-folks of all nations were congregated in the public walk.
1943 National Geographic Mag. Dec. 767/1 He cares for about 30 homeless or orphaned children, sends them to the school he started, and brings them up to be Christian gentlefolk.
1999 M. Shoard Right to Roam Introd. 1 Those not yet able to realise the dream of a country home are presented with an ever wider range of steps towards this goal, ranging from rustic confections..to vicarious enjoyment of the gentlefolks' way of life courtesy of the National Trust.
2. (Usually as two words.) Esp. in Irish folklore: the ‘little people’, the fairies; = gentle-people n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [noun] > collectively
fairya1375
good neighboura1585
faerie1612
good peoplea1692
small people1696
little people1719
Sidhe1724
gentrya1731
little mena1731
small folk1785
little folk1791
gentlefolk1795
the wee folk1819
good folk1820
Pharisee1823
gentle-people1832
fairyhood1844
folk of peace1875
1795 S. J. Pratt Gleanings through Wales I. xi. 147 I..desired to be shewn to the haunted chamber, declaring to her..that..if fifty, or an hundred of the little gentlefolks were disposed to pass the night with me, they would be extremely welcome to part of my bed.
1832 London Lit. Gaz. 22 Sept. 594/2 Did you meet any of the gentle-folk, friend Antony? This is just the night that one would expect to find them quadrilling upon some green and mossy hillock.
1911 W. Y. E. Wentz Fairy-faith in Celtic Countries i. ii. 72 Neil Colton, seventy-three years old, who lives..on the shores of Lough Derg, County Donegal, has a local reputation for having seen the ‘gentle folk’.
2017 L. K. Hamilton Crimson Death 195 ‘Important safety tip in Ireland: Don't call them fairies.’..‘What do we call them instead?’..‘Fey, the gentle folk, the kindly ones.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1556