noble - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English noble, from Old French noble, borrowed from Latin nōbilis (“knowable, known, well-known, famous, celebrated, high-born, of noble birth, excellent”), from nōscere, gnōscere (“to know”).

False cognate of Arabic نبيل (nabīl). Displaced native Middle English athel, from Old English æþele.

noble (plural nobles)

  1. An aristocrat; one of aristocratic blood. [from 14th c.]
    Antonyms: commoner, plebeian
    This country house was occupied by nobles in the 16th century.
  2. (historical) A medieval gold coin of England in the 14th and 15th centuries, usually valued at 6s 8d. [from 14th c.]
    • 1499, John Skelton, The Bowge of Courte:
      I lyked no thynge his playe, / For yf I had not quyckely fledde the touche, / He had plucte oute the nobles of my pouche.
    • 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica, page 34:
      And who shall then stick closest to ye, and excite others? not he who takes up armes for cote and conduct, and his four nobles of Danegelt.
    • 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 93:
      There, before the high altar, as the choir's voices soared upwards to the blue, star-flecked ceiling, Henry knelt and made his offering of a ‘noble in gold’, 6s 8d.

aristocrat

medieval gold coin

noble (comparative nobler or more noble, superlative noblest or most noble)

  1. Having honorable qualities; having moral eminence and freedom from anything petty, mean or dubious in conduct and character.
    Synonyms: great, honorable
    Antonyms: despicable, ignoble, mean, vile
    He made a noble effort.
    He is a noble man who would never put his family in jeopardy.
    • 1997, 1:44:10 from the start, in The Fifth Element‎[1] (Science Fiction / Action), →ISBN, →OCLC:
      Korben, I realize you must be pretty mad at me. But I want you to know that I am fighting for a noble cause. / Yes, you're trying to save the world. I remember.
    • 2001 June 10, Walter Kim, “What Do You Tell The Kids?”, in TIME‎[2], archived from the original on 7 March 2016, retrieved 16 July 2014:
      Wouldn't it be nobler by far to fight the good fight with all the weapons available: a firm bass voice, a wagging finger, the Bible?
  2. Grand; stately; magnificent; splendid.
    a noble edifice
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […] , the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.
  3. Of exalted rank; of or relating to the nobility; distinguished from the masses by birth, station, or title; highborn.
    Synonym: superior
    Antonyms: inferior, plebeian
    noble blood; a noble personage
  4. (chemistry) Of an element, unreactive.
  5. (wine) Belonging to a class of grape cultivars traditionally considered most favorable for winemaking, usually encompassing the six: Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling.
  6. (geometry, of a polyhedron) Both isohedral and isogonal.
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having honorable qualities

of or relating to the nobility; distinguished from the masses by birth

noble (epicene, plural nobles)

  1. noble

Borrowed from Latin nōbilis.

noble m or f (masculine and feminine plural nobles)

  1. noble

noble m or f by sense (plural nobles)

  1. noble

Inherited from Middle French, from Old French noble, borrowed from Latin nōbilis according to the TLFi dictionary.

noble (plural nobles)

  1. noble, aristocratic
  2. (of material) nonsynthetic, natural; fine
  3. noble, worthy (thoughts, cause etc.)

noble m or f by sense (plural nobles)

  1. noble (person who is noble)

noble

  1. inflection of nobel:
    1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
    2. strong nominative/accusative plural
    3. weak nominative all-gender singular
    4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

From Old French noble, from Latin nōbilis.

noble

  1. noble

noble

  1. (Late Middle English, Ireland, Norfolk) alternative form of nobleye

From Old French, from Latin nōbilis.

noble m or f (plural nobles)

  1. noble

From Latin nōbilis.

noble m (oblique and nominative feminine singular **noble)

  1. noble; upper-class; well-bred
    Synonyms: avenant, cortois

noble m or f or n (masculine plural nobli, feminine/neuter plural **noble)

  1. obsolete form of nobil

From Latin nōbilis.

noble m or f (masculine and feminine plural nobles)

  1. noble
    Synonym: hidalgo

noble

  1. definite natural masculine singular of nobel

Borrowed from Spanish noble, from Latin nōbilis.

noble (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜓᜊ᜔ᜎᜒ)

  1. noble
    Synonyms: marangal, onorable