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 (“noble”) (from Old English æþele) and Middle English hathel, hathelle (“noble, nobleman”) (from the merger of Old English æþele (“nobleman”) and Old English hæleþ (“hero”)).

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio

  (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, Aeropagitica:

     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 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) ?
• Arabic: نَبيل (ar) m (nabīl)
• Armenian: ազնվական (hy) (aznvakan)
• Azerbaijani: zadəgan (az)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 貴族／贵族 (zh) (guìzú), 贵族 (zh) (guìzú)

• Czech: šlechtic (cs) m
• Dutch: edele (nl) m, aristocraat (nl) m, adellijke (nl) m
• Esperanto: nobelo (eo)
• Finnish: aristokraatti (fi)
• French: noble (fr) m or f, aristocrate (fr) m or f
• Galician: nobre m or f
• Georgian: თავადი (tavadi), დიდგვაროვანი (didgvarovani), წარჩინებული (c̣arčinebuli), დიდებული (ka) (didebuli)
• German: Adliger (de) m, Adlige (de) f, Aristokrat (de) m, Adeliger (de) m, Edelmann (de) m
• Greek: αριστοκράτης (el) m (aristokrátis), ευγενής (el) m or f (evgenís), άριστος (el) ? (áristos)
• Hawaiian: aliʻi
• Hebrew: אציל (he) m (átzil)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: nemes (hu)
• Irish: uasal (ga) m
• Japanese: 貴族 (ja) (きぞく, kizoku)
• Macedonian: благо́родник m (blagórodnik), ве́лможа m (vélmoža), великодо́стојник m (velikodóstojnik)
• Maori: ariki (mi)
• Persian: نجیب‌زاده (najib-zâde)
• Portuguese: nobre (pt) m or f
• Romanian: nobil (ro) ?, aristocrat (ro) ?
• 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 (sh) m, plȅmkinja (sh) f

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

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

2. Grand; stately; magnificent; splendid.
   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     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. (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

• Arabic: كَرِيم (karīm), شَرِيف (šarīf)
• Armenian: ազնիվ (hy) (azniv), վեհ (hy) (veh), վեհանձն (hy) (vehanjn)
• Catalan: noble (ca)
• Chinese:

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

• Czech: vznešený, 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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: nobile (it)
• Japanese: 偉い (ja) (erai), 立派な (ja) (rippa na)
• Khmer: អភិជន (a’pʰi’ cɔɔn)
• Latin: pulcher, nōbilis (la)
• Macedonian: благороден (blagoroden)
• Maori: metarahi, metararahi
• Norman: nobl'ye (Jersey)
• Norwegian: edel (no)
• Persian: شریف (fa) (šarif)
• Polish: szlachetny (pl)
• Portuguese: nobre (pt)
• 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)
• West Frisian: eal

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

• Azerbaijani: əsil (az)
• 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)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: uasal (ga)
• Japanese: 偉い (ja) (erai), 貴い (tōtoi), 高貴な (ja) (kōki na), 貴族の (ja) (kizoku no)
• Latin: nōbilis (la)
• Slovak: urodzený, aristokratický (sk)
• Swedish: adlig (sv), välboren (sv)

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”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Bolen, Nobel

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin nōbilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈnɔb.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [ˈnɔ.ble]

Adjective

noble m or f (masculine and feminine plural nobles)

1. noble

Derived terms

• noblesa

Noun

noble m or f (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, 2024
• “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.

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French

Etymology

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.)

Noun

noble m or f (plural nobles)

1. noble (person who is noble)

Derived terms

• gaz noble
• noblement
• noblesse

 

References

• etymology

Further reading

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

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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

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Middle English

Etymology

From Old French noble, from Latin nōbilis.

Adjective

noble

1. noble

Descendants

• English: noble

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin nōbilis.

Adjective

noble m or f (plural nobles)

1. noble

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Old French

Etymology

From Latin nōbilis.

Adjective

noble m (oblique and nominative feminine singular noble)

1. noble; upper-class; well-bred

   Synonyms: avenant, cortois

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin nōbilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnoble/ [ˈno.β̞le]

Adjective

noble m or f (masculine and feminine plural nobles)

1. noble

Related terms

• nobleza

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Swedish

Adjective

noble

1. (deprecated template usage) definite natural masculine singular of nobel

Anagrams

• Nobel, nobel