gentilesse means courtesy, refinement; gentleness. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “gentilesse” is a great word
GENTILESSE — [Noun] An ideal of personal conduct blending refined manners, innate courtesy, and a deep-seated moral nobility that transcends mere politeness or social station. From Middle English gentilesse, from Old French gentilesce, from gentil (“noble, gentle”). Unlike “courtesy,” which suggests a code of polished social behavior, or “nobility,” which primarily denotes high birth, gentilesse implies a virtue of character that is cultivated, not inherited. It is the quiet dignity of a host serving the humblest guest first, the measured restraint in a moment of rightful anger, and the hand offered from genuine fellowship rather than recognition—the faint, persistent glow of a better world within the flawed one we inhabit.
Etymology
From Middle English gentilesse, from Old French gentilesce.
noun
- Courtesy, refinement; gentleness.“[…] nor loved he less / Stately lords in palaces, / Princely women hard to please, / Fenced by form and ceremony, / Decked by courtly rites and dress / And etiquette of gentilesse.”