Meanings
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1
noun
a person who is not Jewish, often written with an initial capital
The historian examined how Jews and Gentiles lived together in the port city.
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2
adj
relating to people who are not Jewish
The letter addressed both Jewish and Gentile audiences.
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3
adj
historically or anthropologically, relating to a gens, clan, or people linked by common descent
The tribe was described as a federation of gentile groups organized by kinship.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From French gentil, from Latin gentilis, 'of the same clan or nation,' from gens, 'clan, tribe, or people.' Biblical Latin used the plural gentiles for the nations outside Israel, which produced the modern Jewish and Christian sense 'a person who is not Jewish.' The older clan-related sense survives in historical writing.