noble

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See also: Noble and NOBLE

English[edit]

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Etymology[edit]

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

Displaced native Middle English athel, from Old English æþele.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

noble (plural nobles)

  1. An aristocrat; one of aristocratic blood. [from 14th c.]
    This country house was occupied by nobles in the 16th century.
    Antonyms: commoner, plebeian
  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:
      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.

Hyponyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

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.
    He made a noble effort.
    He is a noble man who would never put his family in jeopardy.
    Synonyms: great, honorable
    Antonyms: despicable, ignoble, mean, vile
    • 1997, The Fifth Element[1] (Science Fiction / Action), →ISBN, →OCLC, 1:44:10 from the start:
      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.
  2. Grand; stately; magnificent; splendid.
    • 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.
    a noble edifice
  3. Of exalted rank; of or relating to the nobility; distinguished from the masses by birth, station, or title; highborn.
    noble blood; a noble personage
    Synonym: superior
    Antonyms: inferior, plebeian
  4. (winemaking) 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.
  5. (geometry, of a polyhedron) Both isohedral and isogonal.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

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See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Asturian[edit]

Adjective[edit]

noble (epicene, plural nobles)

  1. noble

Catalan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin nōbilis.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

noble m or f (masculine and feminine plural nobles)

  1. noble

Derived terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

noble m or f by sense (plural nobles)

  1. noble

Further reading[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

noble (plural nobles)

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

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Danish: nobel
  • German: nobel

Noun[edit]

noble m or f by sense (plural nobles)

  1. noble (person who is noble)

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

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

Middle English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French noble, from Latin nōbilis.

Adjective[edit]

noble

  1. noble

Descendants[edit]

Middle French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French, from Latin nōbilis.

Adjective[edit]

noble m or f (plural nobles)

  1. noble

Old French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin nōbilis.

Adjective[edit]

noble m (oblique and nominative feminine singular noble)

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

Romanian[edit]

Adjective[edit]

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

  1. Obsolete form of nobil.

Declension[edit]

References[edit]

  • noble in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin nōbilis.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈnoble/ [ˈno.β̞le]
  • Rhymes: -oble
  • Syllabification: no‧ble

Adjective[edit]

noble (plural nobles)

  1. noble

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Adjective[edit]

noble

  1. absolute definite natural masculine singular of nobel.

Anagrams[edit]