Where does “gentil” come from?

gentil (Middle English) comes from Old French gentil, from Latin gentīlis, from Latin -ilis, from Proto-Italic -elis, from Proto-Indo-European -elis, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

gentil (Middle English): courteous, noble

Definitions

  1. courteous, noble

Ancestry of “gentil”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchgentilnoble; courteous; courtly
2Latingentīlisof or belonging to the same family or gēns: kinsman
3Latin-ilis-ile
4Proto-Italic-elis—
5Proto-Indo-European-elis—
6Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “gentil”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →Every word from Latin -ilis →Every word from Latin gentīlis →