gentile

noun gen·tile \ ˈjen-ˌtī(-ə)l \

Updated on: 29 Apr 2018

Definition of gentile

1 often capitalized : a person of a non-Jewish nation or of non-Jewish faith; especially : a Christian as distinguished from a Jew

2 : heathen, pagan

3 often capitalized : a non-Mormon

See gentile defined for English-language learners

See gentile defined for kids

Examples of gentile in a Sentence

a strict sect that believes that fellowship with gentiles should exist only for the purposes of conversion

Recent Examples of gentile from the Web

Van Hulst was among more than 26,500 gentiles recognized by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center in Jerusalem for risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

— kansascity, "Final Chapters for April 1, 2018: Rusty Staub, Stéphane Audran, Anita Shreve | The Kansas City Star," 31 Mar. 2018
Van Hulst was among more than 26,500 gentiles — 5,595 from the Netherlands — recognized by Yad Vashem for risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

— ellie silverman, latimes.com, "Dutch schoolteacher who saved hundreds of Jewish children during Holocaust dies at 107," 4 Apr. 2018
Fundamentalists preferred a separatist approach: The gospel of Christ crucified is foolishness to the gentiles.

— sarah jones, New Republic, "Billy Graham’s Circus Left Him Behind," 22 Feb. 2018
The gentile who lived there now gave him two silver candlesticks wrapped in a napkin.

— emily meg weinstein, Longreads, "In Praise of Cowardice," 19 Dec. 2017
As one of the Righteous Among the Nations, Mrs. Brousse was among the more than 26,000 gentiles recognized by Yad Vashem for having risked their safety, while seeking no reward, to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

— emily langer, Washington Post, "‘I was determined . . . that the greatest number of those who came to me could be saved.’," 27 Oct. 2017
Meanwhile, a gentile librarian, Antanas Ulpis, who was assembling the remnants of the national library in a former church, St. George’s, stashed stacks of Jewish materials in basement rooms to hide them from Stalin’s enforcers.

— joseph berger, New York Times, "A Trove of Yiddish Artifacts Rescued From the Nazis, and Oblivion," 18 Oct. 2017
And a scapegoat was ready at hand: its Jewish population, which was moving into professions long reserved for gentiles. Disheartened Germans wondered whether the Jews' recent emancipation was the cause of Germany's downfall.

— ron grossman, chicagotribune.com, "History shows why liberals should worry about 'antifa'," 4 Sep. 2017
Young, old, black, white, Jew, gentile, people from political groups of all stripes, including Trotskyites and other fringe figures as well as more mainstream groups.

— randy dotinga, The Christian Science Monitor, "How did American Naziism begin?," 16 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gentile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of gentile

Middle English gentyl, gentile — more at ²gentle

Note: Historically the same word as ²gentle, with full vowel in the final syllable under influence of the Medieval and Late Latin source word.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

gentile Synonyms

Other Jewish Religion Terms

Talmud, Zion, challah, dybbuk, kosher, tabernacle, tetragrammaton, yarmulke

gentile

adjective

Definition of gentile

1 often capitalized

a : of or relating to the nations at large as distinguished from the Jews; also : of or relating to Christians as distinguished from the Jews

b : of or relating to non-Mormons

2 : heathen, pagan

[borrowed from Latin gentīlis]

: relating to a tribe or clan

Recent Examples of gentile from the Web

East Asians and Ashkenazi Jews have higher average IQ scores than gentile whites.

— robert verbruggen, National Review, "Why I Write about Race and IQ," 5 July 2017
Another retold accounts of Jewish blood libel, myths of Jews using the blood of gentile children in sacrifice rituals, in medieval Russian villages.

— jacob bogage, Washington Post, "Leo Frank was lynched for a murder he didn’t commit. Now neo-Nazis are trying to rewrite history.," 22 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of gentile

Middle English gentyl, gentile — more at ¹gentle

Note: See note at ¹gentile.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Christian Religious Terms

Pentateuch, blasphemy, curate, doxology, eremite, iconoclasm, liturgy, orison, pneuma, reliquary

GENTILE Defined for English Language Learners

gentile

noun

Definition of gentile for English Language Learners

: a person who is not Jewish

GENTILE Defined for Kids

gentile

noun, often capitalized gen·tile \ ˈjen-ˌtīl \

Definition of gentile for Students

: a person who is not Jewish

gentile

adjective, often capitalized

Definition of gentile for Students

: of or relating to people who are not Jewish

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gentile

Definition of gentile

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Origin and Etymology of gentile

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gentile

Definition of gentile

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Origin and Etymology of gentile

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GENTILE Defined for English Language Learners

gentile

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