Gentry (origin
Old French genterie, from
gentil, "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high
social class, especially in the past.
Gentry, in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to
landed estates (see
manorialism), upper levels of the
clergy, and "gentle" families of long descent who never obtained the official right to bear a
coat of arms.