gente

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish gente.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxente/, [ˈxẽn̪.t̪e]
• Hyphenation: gen‧te

Noun

gente

1. person; people

French

Adjective

gente

1. feminine singular of gent

Interlingua

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡen.te/

Noun

gente (plural gentes)

1. people

Synonyms

• populo

See also

• persona

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛn.te/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛnte
• Hyphenation: gèn‧te

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Occitan gent, from Latin [​homō​] gentis (“[man] of noble family”).

Alternative forms

• giente

Adjective

gente (plural genti) (obsolete)

1. noble

   Synonym: nobile

   • a. 1290, Guido Cavalcanti, Beltà di donna di piagente core [Beauty of lovely-hearted woman]‎^[1], lines 1–4; collected in Ercole Rivalta, editor, Rime di Guido Cavalcanti [Rhymes of Guido Cavalcanti]‎^[2], Bologna: Nicola Zanichelli, 1902, page 109:

     Beltà di donna di piagente core, / e cavalieri armati che sian genti, / cantar d’augelli, e ragionar d’amore, / adorni legni in mar forte correnti

     Beauty of lovely-hearted woman, and armed knights who are noble; singing of birds, and talking about love; adorned ships crossing the strong sea

2. (by extension) elegant, refined, gentle

   Synonyms: fine, gentile, leggiadro

   • 13^th century, Guittone d'Arezzo, Se de voi, donna gente [If of you, gentle woman]‎^[3], lines 1–4; collected in Francesco Egidi, editor, Le rime di Guittone d'Arezzo [The rhymes of Guittone d'Arezzo]‎^[4], Bari: Laterza, 1940, page 3:

     Se de voi, donna gente, / m’ha preso amor, no è giá meraviglia, / ma miracol somiglia / come a ciascun no ha l’anima presa

     If I have caught love for you, gentle woman, is no wonder; but it seems like a miracle that it hasn't taken everyone's soul.

Etymology 2

From Latin gentem, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis. Doublet of genesi via Ancient Greek, and compare etymology 1.

Noun

gente f (plural genti)

1. (historical, Ancient Rome) gens (legally defined unit of Roman society)
2. lineage

   Synonyms: discendenza, (literary) genia, lignaggio, progenie, razza, (literary) schiatta, stirpe

   • mid 1560s [29–19 BCE], “Libro primo”, in Annibale Caro, transl., Eneide, translation of Aeneis by Publius Vergilius Maro (in Classical Latin), lines 450, 453–454; republished as L’Eneide di Virgilio‎^[5], Florence: G. Barbera, 1892:

     E l’aspra Giuno, […] / […] / Procurerà che la romana gente / In arme e ’n toga a l’universo imperi.

     And the cruel Juno will make it so that the Roman people, armed or with togas, rule over the Universe.

   • 1898, Giosuè Carducci, “La chiesa di Polenta [The Church of Polenta]”, in Rime e ritmi [Rhymes and rhythms]‎^[6], lines 37–40; collected in Poesie di Giosuè Carducci [Poems by Giosuè Carducci]‎^[7], 1906, page 1012:

     Itala gente da le molte vite, / dove che albeggi la tua notte e un’ombra / vagoli spersa de’ vecchi anni, vedi / ivi il poeta.

     Italian people, who have many lives, wherever your night dawns, and a shadow of the past years wanders around, there you find the poet.

3. population

   Synonym: popolazione

   • 1789–1798, Vittorio Alfieri, “Sonetto ⅩⅩⅩⅥ. 20 febbraio 1795. [Sonnet 36 - 20 February 1795]”, in Misogallo [French-hater]‎^[8], lines 9–11; collected in Gli epigrammi, le satire, il Misogallo di Vittorio Alfieri [The epigrams, the satires, the French-hater by Vittorio Alfieri]‎^[9], Turin, Rome, Milan, Florence, Naples: Ditta G. B. Paravia e comp., 1903, page 178:

     In tai due estremi, due vicine genti / Stanno, gl’Itali, e i Galli: ambo son poco; / Nulla quei, tutto questi in sè veggenti.

     In two such extremes are two peoples: the Italians and the French. None of them is much; the former seeing nothing, the latter everything, in themselves.

4. people (a person's ancestors, relatives or family)
5. (collective) people, guys, folks (body of human beings)
   • mid 1560s [29–19 BCE], “Libro secondo”, in Annibale Caro, transl., Eneide, translation of Aeneis by Publius Vergilius Maro (in Classical Latin), lines 921–923; republished as L’Eneide di Virgilio‎^[10], Florence: G. Barbera, 1892:

     Mi volsi per veder che gente meco / Fosse de’ miei seguaci; e nullo intorno / Più non mi vidi […]

     I turned back to see what people, among my followers, was with me, and I didn't see anyone left.

6. people (mass of a community)
   • 1530, Pietro Bembo, “Libro primo, Capitolo Ⅲ [First book, Chapter 3]”, in Gli Asolani [The Asolani]‎^[11]; collected in Carlo Dionisotti, editor, Prose della volgar lingua, Gli Asolani, Rime (I classici italiani TEA Tascabili), Milan: Editori Associati, 1989:

     Amor, la tua virtute / Non è dal mondo e da la gente intesa, / Che, da viltate offesa, / Segue suo danno e fugge sua salute.

     Love, your virtue is not understood by the world and the people, who, hurt by worthlessness, follow their doom and escape their salvation.

   • 1789–1798, Vittorio Alfieri, “Ode - 29 decembre 1792. [Ode - 29 December 1792]”, in Misogallo [French-hater]‎^[12]; collected in Gli epigrammi, le satire, il Misogallo di Vittorio Alfieri [The epigrams, the satires, the French-hater by Vittorio Alfieri]‎^[13], Turin, Rome, Milan, Florence, Naples: Ditta G. B. Paravia e comp., 1903, page 157:

     Suoi doni impareggiabili / No, non comparte Libertà verace / A gente, ch’infra i vortici / Dei vizj tutti putrefatta giace.

     No, true Freedom doesn't share its unparalleled gifts with people who lie rotten under the vortexes of all vices.

   • 1804, Cesare Beccaria, “Parte prima - Principii e viste generali [General principles and viewpoints]”, in Elementi di economia pubblica [Elements of public economics]‎^[14], section 45; collected in Opere di Cesare Beccaria‎^[15], volume 2, Milan: Società tipografica dei classici italiani, 1822, page 66:

     nei contorni di Parigi i figli della povera gente vivono in generale meno che nelle provincie lontane

     In the vicinity of Paris, the children of poor people generally live less than [they do] in the further provinces.

Derived terms

• gentaglia
• gentame

 

Related terms

• gentile

Further reading

• gente¹ in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
• gente² in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Noun

gente

1. ablative singular of gēns

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• gẽte (obsolete, abbreviation)
• genti (eye dialect, Brazil)
• gênti (eye dialect, Brazil)
• gnt (Internet slang, Brazil)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese gente, from Latin gentem, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʒẽ.t͡ʃi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʒẽ.t͡ʃi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʒẽ.te/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʒẽ.tɨ/

• (Northeast Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʒẽ.ti/
• Rhymes: -ẽtɨ, -ẽt͡ʃi
• Hyphenation: gen‧te

Noun

gente f (plural gentes)

1. people
   2. a group of two or more persons

      Tinha uma gente esperando na porta.

      There were some people waiting at the door.

      Synonyms: povo, pessoas

   4. persons forming a distinct identity

      A gloriosa história da gente portuguesa.

      The glorious history of the Portuguese people.

      Synonym: povo

   5. guys, folks (informal address to a group of people)

      Gente, preciso de ajuda.

      Guys, I need help.

      Synonyms: galera, rapaziada, malta

3. (historical, Ancient Rome) gens (in Ancient Rome, a group of people descending from a common ancestor)

   Synonym: gens

Pronoun

gente

1. (colloquial) we

Usage notes

• Used in informal speech, with the feminine singular definite article (a), as a substitute for the first-person plural pronoun (nós). The verb is then conjugated in the singular third-person (ele, ela). See: a gente.

1. We jumped in the pool.

   A gente pulou na piscina. / Nós pulamos na piscina

   We study every day.

   A gente estuda todos os dias. / Nós estudamos todos os dias.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:gente.

Derived terms

• a gente
• gente boa
• gente fina
• gentinha (diminutive)

Related terms

• gentil

Interjection

gente!

1. (Brazil) expression of surprise or dismay

   Synonym: nossa

   Gente! O que aconteceu aqui

   Wow! What happened here?

Spanish

Etymology

Latinizing modification of Old Spanish yente, inherited from Latin gentem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxente/ [ˈxẽn̪.t̪e]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ente
• Syllabification: gen‧te

Noun

gente f (plural gentes)

1. people

Usage notes

• Gente corresponds most closely with the English meaning of the word people as "a group of two or more persons". In Spanish, this word is a collective noun and does not typically have a plural. The plural is used in several common idiomatic phrases, however, or, rarely, in literature (e.g. don de gentes). Note that the other common meaning of people in English, in which the plural peoples can be formed, "a group of persons forming or belonging to a particular nation, country, etc." does not correspond with gente, and pueblo should be used to convey that meaning (which may be singular or plural).

Derived terms

• buena gente
• común de las gentes
• derecho de gentes
• don de gentes
• gente bien
• gente de paz
• gente de pluma
• gente del bronce
• gente del trato
• gentecilla
• gentilicio
• gentualla
• gentuza
• mala gente
• trato de gentes
• ¿dónde va Vicente? donde va la gente

 

Related terms

• gentil

 

References

• Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1984) “gente”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), volume III (G–Ma), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 144

Further reading

• “gente”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28