A gentlewoman (from the Latin gentilis, belonging to a gens, and English `woman`) in the original and strict sense is a woman of good family, analogous to the Latin generosus and generosa. The closely related English word `gentry` derives from the Old French genterise, gentelise, with much of the meaning of the French noblesse and the German A... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentlewoman
Gen'tle·wom`an noun ; plural Gentlewomen 1. A woman of good family or of good breeding; a woman above the vulgar. Bacon. 2. A woman who attends a lady of high rank. Shak. Found on http://www.encyclo.co.uk/webster/G/20