Genteel

WORD OF THE DAY

genteel / adjective / jen-TEEL

Definition
1a: having an aristocratic quality or flavor
1b: stylish
1c: of or relating to the gentry or upper class
1d: elegant or graceful in manner, appearance, or shape
1e: free from vulgarity or rudeness
1f: polite
2a: maintaining or striving to maintain the appearance of superior or middle-class social status or respectability
2b: marked by false delicacy, prudery, or affectation
2c: conventionally or insipidly pretty

Example
“On a technical level, [Roger] Federer reconciled the power of the modern game with the finesse of the wooden-racket era, creating an elegant style that was excitingly contemporary yet still felt like a loving homage to the sport’s past. ... That Federer’s aesthetically inventive style bolstered his reputation is clear from the reams of essays and books that laud him as the Platonic ideal of a genteel racket-sport champion.”
— Kevin Craft, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2022

That Federer’s aesthetically inventive style bolstered his reputation is clear from the reams of essays and books that laud him as the Platonic ideal of a genteel racket-sport champion.
— Kevin Craft, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2022

Did You Know?
The word genteel has some familiar English relatives, including gentle, gentrify, and gentility. All come from the Latin noun gens, used to refer to a group of related people.
That word's plural, gentes, was used in Roman times to classify the people of the world, particularly non-Romans.
Similarly, the English gentile refers to people who are not Jewish, or who don’t follow other specific religions.
Many non-English words come from gens as well, including the Spanish gente, meaning “people.” To say gens has made its mark would be putting it gently.