gentleman

gentleman patrician, aristocrat are comparable when they denote a person of good or noble birth.

Gentleman basically implies descent from good family, the right to bear a coat of arms, and social rank just below that of the noble and above that of the yeoman. The term has been widely extended in its application and has acquired connotations which have little or nothing to do directly with lineage or heraldic rights but suggest only such outward marks of good birth as elegance of person and of manners and a life of leisure

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a gentleman ... I'll be sworn thou art; thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions and spirit, do give thee five-fold blazon— Shak.

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somebody has said that a king may make a nobleman, but he cannot make a gentleman— Burke

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the gentleman may be a drunkard, a gambler, a debauchee . . .; he may be a man of spotless life, able and honest; but he must on no account be a man with broad palms, a workman amongst workmen- Tom Collins

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Patrician derives its implications from its historical applications but chiefly from its earliest reference to a Roman citizen who belonged to one of the original families of ancient Rome which, after the growth of the plebeian order, kept power and authority in their own hands. In reference to present-day persons the word suggests a distinguished ancestry, superior culture, and aloofness from what is common or vulgar; it is applied chiefly to descendants of established and influential families when they constitute a social caste, especially one marked by exclusiveness and pride in birth

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the merchant patricians [of Boston], like those of Holland and Flanders, in times gone by, wished to perpetuate their names and glorify their capital not only in the elegance of their mansions but also in churches, parks and public buildings— Brooks

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Aristocrat carries fewer suggestions of inbred physical characteristics than gentleman or patrician, but it suggests a sympathy with the point of view common to them. In historical use it commonly implies an opposition to democrat and is applicable to a person who believes in government by superior persons or by the class which includes such persons; in more general use it is commonly applied to a person who by reason of birth, breeding, title, wealth, or outlook is accorded recognition as a member of the highest caste and especially to one who holds himself somewhat aloof from the ordinary forms and observances of social life

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two kinds of aristocrats: one that assumes the right to govern without the consent of the people; the other that assumes the privilege of an exclusive private life— Charles Beard

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a genuine aristocrat, he was at home in all walks of life— Smelser & Kirwin

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Antonyms: boor

Contrasted words: lout, clown, churl (see BOOR)