or ETHEREGE, Sir GEORGE, a wit and comic writer in the reigns of Charles II. and James II., was descended from an ancient family in Oxfordshire, and born in 1636. His youth was spent in travelling, and also partly in the study of the law. His first dramatic performance, entitled Comical Revenge, or Love in a Tub, appeared in 1664, and introduced him to the leading wits of the time. In 1668 he produced a comedy called She Would if She Could; and in 1676 he published another, entitled The Man of Mode, or Sir Fopling Flutter. This latter piece he dedicated to the Duchess of York, who, on the accession of James II., procured his appointment as ambassador, first to Hamburg and afterwards to Ratishon. His knighthood was purchased to gratify the ambition of a rich widow, to whom he paid his addresses for the sake of recruiting his fortune. The precise date of his death is unknown, but it is generally agreed that he did not long survive the Revolution. The works of Etheridge are characterized by considerable vivacity and wit; qualities, however, which only render their licentiousness more dangerous. From the simplicity and plausibility of his disposition, he became known under the familiar appellations of Gentle George, and Easy Etheridge.