Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - gentle

 I. adjective  (~r; ~st)  Etymology: Middle English gentil, from Anglo-French, from Latin gentilis of a gens, of one's family, from gent-, gens gens, nation; akin to Latin gignere to beget — more at kin  Date: 13th century  1.  a. belonging to a family of high social station  b. archaic chivalrous  c. honorable, distinguished; specifically of or relating to a ~man  d. kind, amiable — used especially in address as a complimentary epithet ~ reader  e. suited to a person of high social station  2.  a. tractable, docile  b. free from harshness, sternness, or violence  3. soft, delicate  4. moderate  • gently adverb  II. noun  Date: 14th century a person of ~ birth or status  III. verb  (~d; gentling)  Date: 14th century  transitive verb  1. to raise from the commonalty ; ennoble  2.  a. to make ~r  b. to make (an animal) tame and docile  c. mollify, placate  d. to stroke soothingly ; pet  intransitive verb to become ~ the wind ~d