/ ˈdʒentri; NAmE / noun
[ pl. ] (usually the gentry ) ( old-fashioned ) people belonging to a high social class :
the local gentry
the landed gentry (= those who own a lot of land)
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in the sense superiority of birth or rank ): from Anglo-Norman French genterie , based on gentil high-born, noble, from Latin gentilis of the same clan, from gens , gent- family, race, from the root of gignere beget.