gentile

[jen-tahyl]

adjective

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. of or relating to any people not Jewish.

2. Christian, as distinguished from Jewish.

3. Mormon Church.,  not Mormon.

4. heathen or pagan.

5. (of a linguistic expression) expressing nationality or local origins.

6. of or relating to a tribe, clan, people, nation, etc.

noun

1. a person who is not Jewish, especially a Christian.

2. (among Mormons) a person who is not a Mormon.

3. a heathen or pagan.

Gentile

¹

/ ˈdʒɛntaɪl /

noun

1. a person who is not a Jew

2. a Christian, as contrasted with a Jew

3. a person who is not a member of one's own church: used esp by Mormons

4. a heathen or pagan

adjective

1. of or relating to a race or religion that is not Jewish

2. Christian, as contrasted with Jewish

3. not being a member of one's own church: used esp by Mormons

4. pagan or heathen

Gentile

²

/ dʒenˈtiːle /

noun

1. Giovanni (dʒoˈvanni). 1875–1944, Italian Idealist philosopher and Fascist politician: minister of education (1922–24)

gentile

³

/ ˈdʒɛntaɪl /

adjective

1. denoting an adjective or proper noun used to designate a place or the inhabitants of a place, as Spanish and Spaniard

2. of or relating to a tribe or people

Gentile

1. Someone who is not a Jew (see also Jews). “The nations” is the common expression in the Old Testament for non-Jews as a group, and a Gentile is a person belonging to “the nations.”

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament tell of numerous conflicts between Jews and Gentiles. Figuratively, a “gentile” is any nonbeliever.

Other Word Forms

• nongentile adjective
• pro-Gentile adjective
• ungentile adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gentile¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin gentīlis, from gent-, stem of gēns gens + -īlis -ile

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gentile¹

C14: from Late Latin gentīlis, from Latin: one belonging to the same tribe or family; see _gens

Example Sentences

Hannah, whose gentile mother makes her “not Jewish,” wonders if her wanting a bat mitzvah might be “cultural appropriation.”

From Los Angeles Times

Want to watch a Jewish guy and a gentile woman humorously navigate their relationship?

From Los Angeles Times

Adolf Rosenberger, the Jewish co-founder of Porsche, was convicted of "racial crimes" because of his relationship with a Gentile and stripped of his stake in the company.

From Salon

Originally a gilded processional standard that would be paraded through town on a pole for specific feast days, Gentile da Fabriano’s dazzling double-sided painting shows the coronation of the Virgin Mary on one side and, on the other, St. Francis receiving the stigmata.

From Los Angeles Times

Gentile’s composition likens Francis, a chosen spiritual trailblazer, to a string puppet, his worldly movements henceforth to be directed from above.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• agnostic