My favorite French borrowings are gentle, genteel and jaunty. All borrowed from gentil (kind, pleasant, nice), but at different times (13th century, late 16th, and 17th, respectively).
The French word is from Latin gentilis, meaning “of the Roman clan.” English borrowed that from Latin as gentile.
So we have 4 English words, all from the same Latin origin. Of them, genteel is probably closest to the Old French pronunciation (but the vowels are still a little bit different).
My favorite French borrowings are gentle, genteel and jaunty. All borrowed from gentil (kind, pleasant, nice), but at different times (13th century, late 16th, and 17th, respectively).
The French word is from Latin gentilis, meaning “of the Roman clan.” English borrowed that from Latin as gentile.
So we have 4 English words, all from the same Latin origin. Of them, genteel is probably closest to the Old French pronunciation (but the vowels are still a little bit different).