When a word ceases to be a term of description and becomes merely a term of praise, it no longer tells you facts about the object; it only tells you about the speaker's attitude to that object.
This is because a speaker's attitude towards an object is not formed by the speaker's perception of the object; it is entirely arbitrary. Wait, no, that's not right.
And anyway, the previous use of the term "gentleman" was, in some sense, worse. Because while it had a neutral denotation ("A gentleman is any person who possesses these two qualities"), it had a non-neutral connotation.
it had a non-neutral connotation.
That would be true if the word "gentle" meant the same thing then as it does now. Which it didn't
gentle (adj.) early 13c., "well-born," from Old French gentil "high-born, noble, of good family".
The word originally comes from the ancient (not modern) meaning of Hebrew goy: nation.
EDIT: the last statement is incorrect, see replies.
Another month has passed and here is a new rationality quotes thread. The usual rules are: