noble

See also: Noble and NOBLE

English

Etymology

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnəʊbəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnoʊbəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊbəl
• Hyphenation: no‧ble

Noun

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

• See also Thesaurus:nobleman

Derived terms

• half-noble
• noble gas
• nobleman

 

Translations

aristocrat

• Albanian: fisnik (sq) m, fisnike (sq) f,
• Arabic: نَبِيل‎ (ar) m (nabīl)
• Armenian: ազնվական (hy) (aznvakan)
• Azerbaijani: zadəgan (az)
• Bulgarian: благоро́дник (bg) (blagoródnik), велмо́жа (bg) (velmóža)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 貴族／贵族 (zh) (guìzú)

• Czech: šlechtic (cs) m
• Danish: adelsmand c, adelskvinde c (female), adelsdame c (female), aristokrat c
• Dutch: edele (nl) m, aristocraat (nl) m, adellijke (nl) m
• Esperanto: nobelo (eo), nobelino (female)
• Finnish: aristokraatti (fi)
• French: noble (fr) m or f, aristocrate (fr) m or f, nobliau (fr) m (derogatory)
• Galician: nobre m or f
• Georgian: თავადი (tavadi), დიდგვაროვანი (didgvarovani), წარჩინებული (c̣arčinebuli), დიდებული (ka) (didebuli)
• German: Adeliger (de) m, Adliger (de) m, Adelige (de) f, Adlige (de) f, Aristokrat (de) m, Aristokratin (de) f, Edelmann (de) m, Edelfrau (de) f, Edeldame f, Edelfräulein (de) n (young, unmarried), Edler m, Edle f
• Greek: αριστοκράτης (el) m (aristokrátis), ευγενής (el) m or f (evgenís)

  Ancient: ἄριστος m (áristos)

• Hawaiian: aliʻi
• Hebrew: אציל \ אָצִיל‎ (he) m (atsíl), אצילה \ אֲצִילָה‎ f (atsilá)
• Hungarian: nemes (hu)
• Irish: uasal (ga) m
• Japanese: 貴族 (ja) (きぞく, kizoku)
• Kazakh: ақсүйек (aqsüiek)
• Macedonian: благо́родник m (blagórodnik), ве́лможа m (vélmoža), великодо́стојник m (velikodóstojnik)
• Maori: ariki (mi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: adelsmann (no) m, adelskvinne m or f (female), adelsdame m or f (female), aristokrat (no) m

  Nynorsk: adelsmann m, adelskvinne f, adelsdame f, aristokrat m

• Old English: ǣþel m
• Persian: نجیب‌زاده‎ (najib-zâde)
• Polish: arystokrata (pl) m, arystokratka (pl) f, arystokratka (pl) m, szlachcianka (pl) f
• Portuguese: nobre (pt) m or f
• Romanian: nobil (ro) m, nobilă (ro) f, aristocrat (ro) m, aristocrată (ro) m
• Russian: аристокра́т (ru) m (aristokrát), аристокра́тка (ru) f (aristokrátka), дворяни́н (ru) m (dvorjanín), дворя́нка (ru) f (dvorjánka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пле̏мић m, пле̏мкиња f

  Roman: plȅmīć m, plȅmkinja (sh) f

• Slovak: šľachtic (sk) m, urodzený m
• Spanish: noble (es) m or f
• Swedish: adelsman (sv) c (male), adelsdam (sv) c (female), adelskvinna c (female), adelsperson c, aristokrat (sv) c
• Yiddish: אַדלמאַן‎ m (adlman), אַריסטאָקראַט‎ m (aristokrat), דוואָריאַנין‎ m (dvoryanin) (Russia), וויעלמאָזשנע‎ m (vyelmozhne) (Poland)

medieval gold coin

• German: Nobel m

Adjective

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

• ennoble
• nobility
• noble gas
• nobleman
• noble metal
• noble-minded
• nobleness
• noble rot
• noblewoman
• nobly

 

Translations

having honorable qualities

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: كَرِيم‎ (karīm), شَرِيف‎ (šarīf), نَبِيل‎ (ar) (nabīl)
• Armenian: ազնիվ (hy) (azniv), վեհ (hy) (veh), վեհանձն (hy) (vehanjn)
• Belarusian: шляхе́тны (šljaxjétny)
• Bulgarian: благоро́ден (bg) (blagoróden)
• Catalan: noble (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 高貴／高贵 (zh) (gāoguì), 高尚 (zh) (gāoshàng)

• Czech: vznešený (cs), velkomyslný, ušlechtilý (cs)
• Dutch: edel (nl), adellijk (nl), eervol (nl), fatsoenlijk (nl), nobel (nl)
• Esperanto: nobla (eo)
• Estonian: aatelik
• Finnish: aatelinen (fi), jalo (fi), ylväs (fi)
• French: noble (fr), aristocratique (fr)
• Galician: nobre
• Georgian: კეთილშობილი (ḳetilšobili), დიდსულოვანი (didsulovani), სულგრძელი (sulgrʒeli)
• German: nobel (de), edel (de), großzügig (de), großmütig (de), hehr (de)
• Greek: αριστοκρατικός (el) (aristokratikós)

  Ancient: γενναῖος (gennaîos)

• Hawaiian: aliʻi
• Hebrew: יקר רוח‎ (y"kar ruakh), נאצל‎ (he) m (né'étsal)
• Hungarian: nemes (hu)
• Irish: uasal (ga), án (ga)
• Italian: nobile (it)
• Japanese: 偉い (ja) (erai), 立派な (ja) (rippa na)
• Khmer: អភិជន (a’pʰi’ cɔɔn)
• Kyrgyz: асыл (ky) (asıl)
• Latin: pulcher, nōbilis (la)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: благороден (blagoroden)
• Maori: metarahi, metararahi
• Norman: nobl'ye (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: edel (no)

  Nynorsk: edel

• Occitan: nòble (oc)
• Persian: شریف‎ (fa) (šarif)
• Polish: szlachetny (pl)
• Portuguese: nobre (pt)
• Romanian: nobil (ro)
• Russian: благоро́дный (ru) (blagoródnyj)
• Scots: athill
• Scottish Gaelic: uasal, mòrdha, miathail, flathail, allail, òirdheirc
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: племѐнит

  Roman: plemènit (sh)

• Slovak: šľachetný, ušľachtilý, vznešený
• Spanish: noble (es)
• Swedish: ädel (sv), nobel (sv)
• Turkish: soylu (tr), asil (tr)
• Ukrainian: благоро́дний (uk) (blahoródnyj), шляхе́тний (šljaxétnyj)
• West Frisian: eal

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

• Albanian: fisnik (sq) m, fisnike (sq) f
• Azerbaijani: əsil (az)
• Belarusian: высакаро́дны (vysakaródny), шляхе́тны (šljaxjétny)
• Bulgarian: благоро́ден (bg) (blagoróden), аристократи́чен (bg) (aristokratíčen)
• Finnish: aatelinen (fi), aatelis-
• German: adlig (de), aristokratisch (de), vornehm (de), nobel (de), erhaben (de), erlaucht (de), prächtig (de), stattlich (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: γενναῖος (gennaîos), εὐγενής (eugenḗs)

• Irish: uasal (ga)
• Italian: nobile (it), aristocratico (it)
• Japanese: 偉い (ja) (erai), 貴い (ja) (tōtoi), 高貴な (ja) (kōki na), 貴族の (ja) (kizoku no)
• Latin: nōbilis (la)
• Macedonian: благороден (blagoroden)
• Old English: æþele
• Polish: szlachetny (pl)
• Romanian: nobil (ro)
• Russian: благоро́дный (ru) (blagoródnyj), аристократи́ческий (ru) (aristokratíčeskij)
• Slovak: urodzený, aristokratický (sk)
• Swedish: adlig (sv), välboren (sv)
• Ukrainian: шляхе́тний (šljaxétnyj)
• Yiddish: אַדלדיק‎ (adldik)

grand, magnificent, splendid

• Bulgarian: възвишен (bg) (vǎzvišen), величествен (bg) (veličestven)
• Italian: splendido (it)

See also

• honorable

Further reading

• “noble”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “noble”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• noble at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Bolen, Lebon, Nobel

Asturian

Adjective

noble (epicene, plural nobles)

1. noble

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin nōbilis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈnɔ.blə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈnɔ.ble/

Adjective

noble m or f (masculine and feminine plural nobles)

1. noble

Derived terms

• gas noble
• noblement
• noblesa

Noun

noble m or f by sense (plural nobles)

1. noble

Further reading

• “noble” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “noble”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “noble” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “noble” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɔbl/

• audio (un noble)

  (file)

Adjective

noble (plural nobles)

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

Derived terms

• gaz noble
• noblement
• noblesse
• pourriture noble

 

Descendants

• → Danish: nobel
• → German: nobel

Noun

noble m or f by sense (plural nobles)

1. noble (person who is noble)

References

• Etymology and history of “noble”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Further reading

• “noble”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnoːblə/

Adjective

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

Etymology

From Old French noble, from Latin nōbilis.

Adjective

noble

1. noble

Descendants

• English: noble

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin nōbilis.

Adjective

noble m or f (plural nobles)

1. noble

Old French

Etymology

From Latin nōbilis.

Adjective

noble m (oblique and nominative feminine singular noble)

1. noble; upper-class; well-bred

   Synonyms: avenant, cortois

Romanian

Adjective

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

1. Obsolete form of nobil.

Declension

Declension of noble

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	noble		noble	nobli	noble
	definite	noblele		noblea	noblii	noblele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	noble		noble	nobli	noble
	definite	noblelui		noblei	noblilor	noblelor

References

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

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin nōbilis.

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

noble (plural nobles)

1. noble

Derived terms

• gas noble
• metal noble
• noblemente

 

Related terms

• nobleza

 

Further reading

• “noble”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swedish

Adjective

noble

1. absolute definite natural masculine singular of nobel.

Anagrams

• Nobel, nobel