Having a kind, compassionate, and benevolent disposition; showing tenderness and sympathy in one's feelings.
From gentle (of refined character) plus hearted (having a particular kind of heart or disposition). This compound adjective emerged in Middle English to describe people whose inner nature matched their outward gentleness.
Medieval literature frequently praised 'gentlehearted' knights as a moral ideal—the concept was that true nobility wasn't just about birth or manners, but about genuine kindness inside. This shows how language can reveal what a culture actually valued.
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