Gently means with a soft, light touch, so nothing gets hurt or broken. Lifting a sleeping cat off your lap. Closing the front door gently at two in the morning, or pressing gently on a bruise to see how bad it is.
It stretches well past hands. A hill can slope gently, a pan can simmer gently, a room can be gently warm — mild rather than strong. Speech takes it too: 'he told her gently that the dog had died' means kindly, without harshness, and recipes lean on it hard, with fry the onions gently and gently fold in the egg whites. One trap: gently is not slowly, because what it measures is force, not speed. You can move gently and fast. Gently does it, said while easing a sofa round a corner, is the phrase you will hear most.
1adverbgentlyWith a soft, light touch that avoids harm.
“She gently peeled the plaster off his knee.”
synonyms: softly, lightly, tenderly
2adverbmildlyIn a mild, kind way, without harshness.
“He gently pointed out that the shop had closed an hour ago.”
synonyms: kindly, mildly
3adverbslightlyBy a small degree; not steeply or strongly.
“The path climbs gently for a mile and then turns.”
synonyms: slightly, mildly
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
Also accepted in games: softly
Gently comes from Middle English gentilly, which is gentle plus -ly. Say gentle-ly out loud and you can hear why it did not last: English trimmed the doubled syllable away — a change called haplology — and left gently behind.
Middle English
gentilly
English, today
gently
From Middle English gentilly, gentlych, gentilliche, equivalent to gentle + -ly, with -lely simplified to -ly by haplology.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA