Gentry (origin Old French genterie, from gentil, "high-born, noble", from Latin gentilis, of the same gens or race) denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Gentry, in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to landed estates (see manorialism), upper levels of the clergy, and "gentle" families of long descent who may never have obtained the official right to bear a coat of arms.