Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Gentile” come from?

Gentile derives from French gentil, from Latin -ilis, from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁-, meaning to beget or produce, with the adjectival suffix -lós.

Gentile (English): Alternative letter-case form of gentile; A...

Definitions

  1. Alternative letter-case form of gentile; A...

Ancestry of “Gentile”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchgentilhelpful, kind; pleasant, amiable, nice;...
2Old Frenchgentilnoble; courteous; courtly
3Latingentīlis—
4Latin-ilis-ile
5Proto-Italic-elis—
6Proto-Indo-European-elis—
7Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “Gentile”

  • antigentile
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →