gentle

/ˈjen-tᵊl/

Middle English gentyl "of aristocratic birth, exhibiting ideal characteristics of the wellborn, of excellent quality, gracious, courteous, kind," borrowed from Anglo-French gentil, borrowed from Medieval Latin gentīlis "of oneʼs own house, of good family or breeding, native, of a non-Jewish nation or faith, not Christian, pagan," going back to Latin "of a Roman gens, of oneʼs own family or tribe, native," from gent-, gens "race, people, gens-īlis, suffix of affiliation

adjective

  1. free from harshness, sternness, or violence

  2. tractable, docile

  3. soft, delicate

used gentle persuasion

a gentle horse

noun

  1. a person of gentle birth or status

verb

  1. to make (an animal) tame and docile

  2. to make gentler

  3. mollify, placate