Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Gentry

Gentry , noun

[Old English genterie, gentrie, noble birth, nobility, compare gentrise, and Old French gentelise, genterise, English gentilesse, also Old English genteleri high-mindedness. See Gent, a., Gentle, a.]

1.
Birth; condition; rank by birth. [Obsolete]
Pride of gentrie. — Chaucer
She conquers him by high almighty Jove, By knighthood, gentry, and sweet friendship's oath. — Shakespeare
2.
People of education and good breeding; in England, in a restricted sense, those between the nobility and the yeomanry. — Macaulay
3.
Courtesy; civility; complaisance. [Obsolete]
To show us so much gentry and good will. — Shakespeare