Learn Greek › C1 › ευγενής
ευγενής
noble /evʝeˈnis/
adjectiveC1#3601 most common
Also: well-born, gracious, courteous (formal/literary)
Example sentences
Είναι ένας ευγενής άνθρωπος.
He is a noble, kind man.
Η κυρία Παπαδοπούλου είναι πάντα ευγενής με όλους.
Mrs. Papadopoulou is always polite to everyone.
Έκανε μια ευγενή χειρονομία βοηθώντας τον ηλικιωμένο γείτονα.
He made a noble gesture by helping the elderly neighbor.
Καταγόταν από ευγενή οικογένεια της Βενετίας.
He came from a noble family of Venice.
Παρά την ήττα, έδειξε ευγενή άμιλλα προς τον αντίπαλό του.
Despite the defeat, he showed noble sportsmanship toward his opponent.
Οι ευγενείς της αυλής διαφώνησαν ανοιχτά με την απόφαση του βασιλιά.
The nobles of the court openly disagreed with the king's decision.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ευγενής | ευγενείς |
| Genitive | ευγενούς | ευγενών |
| Accusative | ευγενή | ευγενείς |
| Vocative | ευγενή | ευγενείς |
Word family
ευγένειαnobility, politenessευγενικόςpolite, kind (everyday word)
ευγενικάpolitely, kindly
αγενήςrude, impolite (opposite)Etymology
Ευγενής comes from ancient Greek εὐγενής, built from εὐ- (well, good) and the root of γένος (birth, descent, kind). It originally meant 'well-born' or 'of good stock', then broadened to describe noble character, and later politeness. The same γεν- root gives English words like gene and genus through Latin.
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