Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Possessing hereditary rank in a political system or social class derived from a feudalistic stage of a country's development.
- adjective Having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity, or honor.
- adjective Proceeding from or indicative of such a character; showing magnanimity.
- adjective Grand and stately in appearance; majestic.
- adjective Chemistry Inactive or inert.
- noun A member of the nobility.
- noun A gold coin formerly used in England, worth half of a mark.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Possessing or characterized by hereditary social or political preëminence, or belonging to the class which possesses such preëminence or dignity; distinguished by birth, rank, or title; of ancient and honorable lineage; illustrious: as, a noble personage; noble birth.
- High in excellence or worth.
- Great or lofty in character, or in the nature of one's achievements; magnanimous; above everything that is mean or dishonorable: applied to persons or the mind.
- Proceeding from or characteristic or indicative of greatness of mind: as, noble courage; noble sentiments; noble thoughts.
- Of the best kind; choice; excellent.
- In mineralogy, excellent; pure in the highest decree: as, noble opal; noble hornblende; noble tourmalin.
- Precious; valuable: applied to those metals which are not altered on exposure to the air, or which do not easily rust, and which are much scarcer and more valuable than the so-called useful metals. Though the epithet is applied chiefly to gold and silver, and sometimes to quicksilver, it might also with propriety be made use of in reference to platinum and the group of metals associated with it, since these are scarce and valuable, and are little acted on by ordinary reagents.
- In falconry, noting long-winged falcons which swoop down upon the quarry.
- Of magnificent proportions or appearance; magnificent; stately; splendid: as, a noble edifice.
- noun A person of acknowledged social or political preëminence; a person of rank above a commoner; a nobleman; specifically, in Great Britain and Ireland, a peer; a duke, marquis, earl, viscount, or baron. See
nobility and peerage. - noun An old English gold coin, current for 6s. 8d., first minted by Edward III., and afterward by Richard II., Henry IV., V., and VI., and also by Edward IV., under whom one variety of the noble was called the ryal or rose noble (see
ryal ). - noun The pogge, Agonus cataphractus.
- noun plural In entomology, the Papilionidæ.
- To ennoble.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To make noble; to ennoble.
- noun A person of rank above a commoner; a nobleman; a peer.
- noun An English money of account, and, formerly, a gold coin, of the value of 6 s. 8 d. sterling, or about $1.61 (in 1913).
- noun (Zoöl.) A European fish; the lyrie.
- adjective Possessing eminence, elevation, dignity, etc.; above whatever is low, mean, degrading, or dishonorable; magnanimous
- adjective Grand; stately; magnificent; splendid.
- adjective Of exalted rank; of or pertaining to the nobility; distinguished from the masses by birth, station, or title; highborn
- adjective (Chem.) a gaseous element belonging to group VIII of the periodic table of elements, not combining with other elements under normal reaction conditions; specifically,
helium ,neon ,argon ,krypton ,xenon , orradon ; also calledinert gas . - adjective (Chem.) silver, gold, and platinum; -- so called from their resistance to oxidation by air and to dissolution by acids. Copper, mercury, aluminium, palladium, rhodium, iridium, and osmium are sometimes included.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Having
honorable qualities; having moraleminence and freedom from anythingpetty ,mean ordubious in conduct and character
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective of or belonging to or constituting the hereditary aristocracy especially as derived from feudal times
- adjective inert especially toward oxygen
- adjective having or showing or indicative of high or elevated character
- noun a titled peer of the realm
- adjective impressive in appearance
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word noble.
Examples
-
During the time I was with them I could not see anything noble in them, unless it was that they were _noble_ murderers, _noble_ cowards, _noble_ thieves.
Two Months in the Camp of Big Bear Theresa Fulford Delaney 1881
-
Frenchman brought with him a Latin grammar, written in his own language, with which my friend was quite pleased, until she came to a passage relating to the masculine gender in nouns, and claiming grammatical precedence for it on the ground that the male sex is the noble sex, -- "_le sexe noble_."
Women and the Alphabet A Series of Essays Thomas Wentworth Higginson 1867
-
I am the fine lady, Helena -- I was the cause of his being cheated -- I was intent upon _the noble end_ of outshining a certain Mrs. Luttridge -- the _noble means_ I left to others, and the means have proved worthy of the end.
Tales and Novels — Volume 03 Maria Edgeworth 1808
-
_ our noble, _doubly noble_ Madeleine, the humble companion of any one, but especially of such a coarse person as Lady Vivian!
Fairy Fingers A Novel Anna Cora Ogden Mowatt Ritchie 1844
-
I cannot but remind those about me of the merits of my noble friend -- [then correcting himself, Earl Grey went on] -- I wish I could call him my _noble_ friend (_noble_, I mean, in rank, as he is already _noble_ in mind) -- I wish I could see him ennobled by his Sovereign, as his services entitle him to be; for who would deny him that honour, who recollects the career which he has run from Rodney's glorious day, the battles off Cape St. Vincent and the Nile, down to his own brilliant exploits in the
Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez. Vol II John Ross 1816
-
The term noble is applied to varieties that produce wines with the potential for developing great complexity over many years in the bottle; these include the French Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, the Italian Nebbiolo and Sangiovese, and the German Riesling.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
-
The term noble is applied to varieties that produce wines with the potential for developing great complexity over many years in the bottle; these include the French Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, the Italian Nebbiolo and Sangiovese, and the German Riesling.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
-
-- The noblest jealousy, if the term noble is appropriate, is a sort of ambition or pride of the loving person who feels it is an insult that another one should assume it as possible to supplant his love, or it is the highest degree of devotion which sees
Searchlights on Health The Science of Eugenics B. G. Jefferis
-
-- The noblest jealousy, if the term noble is appropriate, is a sort of ambition or pride of the loving person who feels it is an insult that another one should assume it as possible to supplant his love, or it is the highest degree of devotion which sees a declaration of its object in the foreign invasion, as it were, of his own altar.
-
For people engaged in what they called a noble cause (defending transsexuals), McCloskey and Conway showed a remarkable disinclination to tell Dreger what they had done.
chained_bear commented on the word noble
"A third of a pound, or half a mark. The sum of 6s. 8d."
August 21, 2008