gentle
gentle (jĕnʹtl) adjective
gentler, gentlest
1. Considerate or kindly in disposition; amiable and tender.
2. Not harsh or severe; mild and soft: a gentle scolding; a gentle tapping at the window.
3. Easily managed or handled; docile: a gentle horse.
4. Not steep or sudden; gradual: a gentle incline.
5. a. Of good family; wellborn. b. Suited to one of good breeding; refined and polite.
6. Archaic. Noble; chivalrous: a gentle knight.
noun
Archaic.
One of good birth or relatively high station.
verb, transitive
gentled, gentling, gentles
1. To make less severe or intense: The peaceful sunset gentled her dreadful mood.
2. To soothe, as by stroking; pacify.
3. To tame or break (a domestic animal, for instance): gentle a horse.
4. To raise to the status of a noble.
[Middle English gentil, courteous, noble, from Old French, from Latin gentīlis, of the same clan, from gēns, gent-, clan.]
genʹtleness noun
genʹtly adverb