In modern speech the term gentleman refers to any man of good, courteous conduct. It may also refer to all men collectively , as in indications of gender-separated facilities, or as a sign of the speaker's own courtesy when addressing others.
现在来说，“绅士”这一词常用来指行为优雅有礼的男士。“绅士”还可在表示性别时或者演讲者开始演讲前礼貌称呼别人时用来指全体男士。
In its original meaning, the term denoted a man of the lowest rank of the English gentry , standing below an esquire and above a yeoman . By definition, this category included the younger sons of the younger sons of peers and the younger sons of baronets , knights, and esquires in perpetual succession, and thus the term captures the common denominator of gentility shared by both constituents of the English aristocracy: the peerage and the gentry. In this sense, the word equates with the French gentilhomme ("nobleman"), which latter term has been, in Great Britain, long confined to the peerage.
“绅士”这一词原意是指英国上流社会中最低的一个等级，低于骑士但高于自由民。根据定义，这个阶层的人包括公、侯、伯、子、男爵的孙辈，以及男爵、爵士以及骑士的儿子，且绅士采取的是永久世袭制。因此，“绅士”拥有英国广大的上流阶层人士的共同特性：贵族头衔与绅士身份。从这个意义上来，“gentleman（绅士）”这一词相当于法语中的 gentilhomme （即“nobleman”），后来这个表达在大不列颠常用来指贵族。
