A Dictionary of Cont..

genteel
ways at some repair or improvement . . .). In
the eighteenth century, when the word had quite
a vogue, a man of genius was an ingenious man.
But with the rise of the Romantic Movement,
with its exaltation of the abnormal, its fantastic
hero worship and its cult of the supernatural,
genius came to be applied to intellectual powers
which seemed almost to proceed from supernatural
inspiration or demonic possession and
which produced its works in a manner not comprehensible
to the ordinary mind. It was at this
time that the distinction between talent and
genius, between a special capacity and an exceptional
capacity, was drawn with the exaggerated
emphasis which still colors the meanings of the
words. De Quincey stated the difference with
vehement vagueness in a definition that has become
classical: Talent and genius, he said, are
not merely different, they are in polar opposition
to each other. Talent is intellectual power of
every kind, which acts and manifests itself . . .
through the will and the active forces. Genius
. . . is that much rarer species of intellectunl
power which is derived from the genial nature
-from the spirit of suffering and enjoyingfrom
the spirit of pleasure and pain. It is a function
of the passive nature. From this it was only
a step to refer to one possessing genius as himself
a genius, a person set apart from other men
by a supra-natural gift.
The word talent, an ancient weight of money,
attained its present meaning of natural ability
or mental endowment through its figurative use
in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:
14-30. It is a very useful word to hold in mind
when discussing the “real” meaning of words
with purists. Up to and throughout the eighteenth
century it was closely synonymous with
genius, even including the idea of something
divinely entrusted to one. It is interesting that
Milton, who became one of the supreme exemplars
of genius to the romantics, referred to his
own powers (in his sonnet on his blindness beginning
“When I consider how my light is
spent”) as talent. But the romantic distinction
did its work and talent, in the modern conception
of it, which may be acquired by imitation
and training, is now definitely thought of as
something infinitely inferior to genius. It is one
of the favorite damnings by faint praise in reviews
of literary, musical, and artistic performances
to say that they showed talent.
Genius has two plurals. More than one supranatural
ability or more than one person possessing
such abilities are geniuses. Guardian
spirits, attendant spirits-whether good or bad
-and more than one jinni or genie, are genii.
genteel; gentle; Gentile. The Latin word gentilis,
from which all three of these words derive,
meant of the same clan or tribe or family in the
larger sense. Genteel once meant well-bred or
elegant, showing, that is, the outward signs of
belonging to one of the better families, suited
to a gentleman, characteristic of the upper
classes (A man might be rich without being
genteel. There was nothing vulgar about her;
she was genteel and accomplished). But the
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democratic revolution, or perhaps simply the
behavior of those who prided themselves on
their gentility, has made the word in current
usage slightly derogatory, mildly sarcastic (shabby
gentility), describing rather those who affect
the ways and manners of the upper classes than
those who actually have them (So genteel that
she always called a leg a limb and a shirt a
garment).
Though gentle still keeps some of its older
meaning of characteristic of good birth, wellborn,
in such terms as gentlemen and gentlefolk,
the meaning is one more recognized than used.
It would seem a little affected, archaic, or deliberately
literary to employ it in conversation or
writing. In current usage it means mild, kind,
amiable (His gentle words soothed the angry
boy. My mother’s gentle touch delighted everyone.
Such gentle humor can never wound),
moderate, or easily handled (Boil it over a gentle
flame. Please chose a gentle horse for me;
I am not a good rider).
Gentile today has the primary meaning, derived
from the Bible, of non-Jewish. In medieval
Europe it meant heathen. Among the Mormons
it has the meaning of non-Mormon. But Kipling’s
use of the word in the famous passage
in Recessional (Such boastings as the Gentiles
use,/ Or lesser breeds without the Law) must
be regarded as anomalous. The solemnity of the
occasion called in his opinion for Biblical language
and it was easy in 1897 to conceive of
the English as God’s chosen people but Gentiles
in any accepted sense of the word at that time
would have included the English and the lesser
breeds.
gentleman; gent; man. A gentleman was once a
man of a definite social rank, above a yeoman.
Shakespeare went to considerable trouble to get
his father made a gentleman so that he might
be the son of a gentleman. This meaning is now
of purely historical interest. In popular usage
the term means a man of good breeding, education,
and manners. It can also mean a valet (a
gentleman’sgentleman). In polite address (Indies
and gentlemen) it means a man. Overuse has
vulgarized the word (I’m next in line. I don’t
believe the gentleman is taking his proper turn)
and man remains the more dignified word.
Gent and gents as abbreviations are either
humorous (Step right up, gents, and say what
you’ll have) or pathetically vulgar (Tables for
ladies and gents).
gentlewoman. See woman.
gentry. When used seriously, this is a group name
and may take a singular or a plural verb, as in
the gentry was represented and the gentry were
represented. It is not used as a true plural and
plural constructions such as these gentry are
ready to leave are meant to be witty or contemptuous.
The word is seldom used seriously
in the United States.
genuine. See authentic.
genus. The plural is genera, and occasionally
genuses, but never geni.
gerrymander is often erroneously written jerrymnnder.
The word derives from Elbridge Gerry,