Definition of: gentle

(jen′təl) adjective
1. Belonging to a family distinguished by blood, birth, or station.
2. Befitting one of high birth or station.
3. Archaic Noble; chivalrous: a gentle knight.
4. Considerate; generously inclined: gentle reader.
5. Mild in disposition; refined in manners.
6. Tame; docile: a gentle horse.
7. Soft; moderate; not harsh: a gentle touch.
8. Not steep, sharp, or abrupt: a gentle slope.
9. Meteorol. Designating a moderate breeze, No. 3 on the Beaufort scale.
—v.t. gen·tled, gen·tling
1. To make easy to control; tame, as a horse.
2. To make gentle.
3. Obs. To raise to the rank of gentility. [<OF gentil <L gentilis of good birth <gens, gentis race, clan. Doublet of GENTEEL, GENTILE.]
—gen′tly adverb
—gen′tle·ness noun