Greetings and politeness in Italian

Near the end of this list stands gentile, the word here an English reader will misread most confidently. Gentile means kind, considerate, obliging: è molto gentile da parte Sua thanks somebody for a favour, and sei molto gentile is what you say when a stranger holds a door open. It says nothing whatever about softness, and « gentle » says almost nothing else — « a gentle slope », « a gentle voice ». Both descend from Latin gentilis, belonging to the same gens, the same clan, and then belonging to a good one. From there the two languages walked off in opposite directions. Italian followed the conduct expected of such a family and arrived at courtesy. English followed the manner of that conduct and arrived at mildness, leaving the older sense stranded in « gentleman » and « genteel ». Two things follow. Render gentile as « kind », never as « gentle ». And the noun la gentilezza is « kindness », not « gentleness » — a sign thanking you per la vostra gentilezza thanks you for being nice, not for being quiet.