gentleman

/ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/

//ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gentleman" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gentleman” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,498. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,498
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any well-bred, well-mannered, or charming man.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gentleman · gentleman · English

gentleman · rank #5,498 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,498
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH flew

Nearest frequency peer: flew (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “gentleman”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “gentleman” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

gentleman vs gentlemen
89% similar
gentleman vs gentlemanly
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for gentleman
PropertyValue
Headwordgentleman
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#5,498
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gentleman”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).gentlemanlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “flew” (#5,497), “GM” (#5,499), “exhibit” (#5,496). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gentleman” is #5,498. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around gentleman (IPA /ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,498 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for gentleman, with forms such as "egntleman", "genlteman", and "genntleman". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "gentlemen", "gentlemanly", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English gentilman, morphologically gentle + man, partial calque of Old French gentilhome. The correct English form is gentleman, spelled G-E-N-T-L-E-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any well-bred, well-mannered, or charming man.
  2. 2
    Any man.
  3. 3
    A man of gentle but not noble birth, particularly a man of means (originally ownership of property) who does not work for a living but has no official status in a peerage; (UK law) an armigerous man ranking below a knight.
  4. 4
    An effeminate or oversophisticated man.
  5. 5
    An amateur or dabbler in any field, particularly those of independent means.
  6. 6
    An amateur player, particularly one whose wealth permits him to forego payment.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how gentleman appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed.
  2. As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish,[…]. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get.[…]I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.

Etymology

From Middle English gentilman, morphologically gentle + man, partial calque of Old French gentilhome.

This word in other languages

caballero(Español)gentilhomme(Français)Herr(Deutsch)fidalgo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • egntleman
  • genlteman
  • genntleman
  • gentelman
  • gentleamn
  • gentlemann
  • gentlemman
  • gentlemna
  • gentlleman
  • gentlmean
  • genttleman
  • getnleman
  • ggentleman
  • gnetleman

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gentleman - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

egntleman2genlteman2genntleman1gentelman2gentleamn2gentlemann1gentlemman1gentlemna2
Edit distance from "gentleman"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gentleman"?
"gentleman" is spelled G-E-N-T-L-E-M-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/.
What does "gentleman" mean?
As a noun, "gentleman" means: Any well-bred, well-mannered, or charming man.
What words are commonly confused with "gentleman"?
"gentleman" is commonly confused with "gentlemen", "gentlemanly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gentleman"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gentleman" is /ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gentleman"?
From Middle English gentilman, morphologically gentle + man, partial calque of Old French gentilhome. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gentleman", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Halloween#5,500liability#5,516Manhattan#5,519apologize#5,473

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

indigenous14 variantsconnecting14 variantsacceptance14 variantspolitician14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list