"I would rather prove my self to be a Gentleman, by being learned and humble, valiant and inoffensive, vertuous, and communicable, then by a fond ostentation of riches."-- Walton, The Angler (1653)

On the local news in Pittsburgh one evening, I was startled to hear a woman complain to a reporter, “that gentleman exposed himself to my little girl.” By definition, a “gentleman” would never behave in such a fashion. Ever since I have noticed that law enforcement officials are the Americans most likely to use the word “gentleman” and always in reference to some thug—a usage as far removed as imaginable from the original meaning of the word.

Confusion about the words “lady” and “gentleman” is also evident in Congress, where a woman senator or representative is referred to, and addressed, as a “gentlelady.” This is a redundancy (and my computer spelling program correctly underlined it in red). “Lady” by definition requires the possession of gentility and higher social class, hence “Lady Diana.” It is the female counterpart of the male “lord,” as in Lord Peter Wimsey