nobility

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no·bil·i·ty

(nō-bĭl′ĭ-tē)

n. pl. no·bil·i·ties

1. A class of persons distinguished by high birth or rank and in Great Britain including dukes and duchesses, marquises and marchionesses, earls and countesses, viscounts and viscountesses, and barons and baronesses: "The old English nobility of office made way for the Norman nobility of faith and landed wealth" (Winston S. Churchill).

2. Noble rank or status: Congress may not grant titles of nobility.

3. The state or quality of being exalted in character.

[Middle English nobilite, the quality of being noble, from Old French, from Latin nōbilitās, from nōbilis, noble; see noble.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

nobility

(nəʊˈbɪlɪtɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a socially or politically privileged class whose titles are conferred by descent or by royal decree

2. the state or quality of being morally or spiritually good; dignity: the nobility of his mind.

3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (in the British Isles) the class of people holding the titles of dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, or barons and their feminine equivalents collectively; peerage

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

no•bil•i•ty

(noʊˈbɪl ɪ ti)

n., pl. -ties.

1. the noble class or the body of nobles in a country.

2. the state or quality of being noble.

3. nobleness of mind, character, or spirit.

4. grandeur.

5. noble birth or rank.

[1350–1400; Middle English nobilite < Latin nōbilitās. See noble]

Nobility

the body of persons forming the noble class of a country or state—Wilkes.

Example: nobility of the realm, 1530.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	nobility - a privileged class holding hereditary titles aristocracy elite, elite group - a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status noblesse - members of the nobility (especially of the French nobility) baronage, peerage - the peers of a kingdom considered as a group baronetage - the collective body of baronets knighthood - aristocrats holding the rank of knight samurai - feudal Japanese military aristocracy aristocrat, blue blood, patrician - a member of the aristocracy
	2.	nobility - the quality of elevation of mind and exaltation of character or ideals or conduct magnanimousness, nobleness, grandeur honorableness, honourableness - the quality of deserving honor or respect; characterized by honor high-mindedness, noble-mindedness, idealism - elevated ideals or conduct; the quality of believing that ideals should be pursued sublimity - nobility in thought or feeling or style
	3.	nobility - the state of being of noble birth noblesse status, position - the relative position or standing of things or especially persons in a society; "he had the status of a minor"; "the novel attained the status of a classic"; "atheists do not enjoy a favorable position in American life" purple - of imperial status; "he was born to the purple"

nobility

noun

1. aristocracy, lords, elite, nobles, upper class, peerage, ruling class, patricians, high society They married into the nobility and entered the highest ranks of society.

2. dignity, majesty, greatness, grandeur, magnificence, stateliness, nobleness I found Mr. Mandela supremely courteous, with a genuine nobility of bearing.

3. integrity, honour, virtue, goodness, honesty, righteousness, probity, rectitude, worthiness, incorruptibility, uprightness There can be no doubt about the remarkable strength and nobility of her character.

Related words
adjective nobiliary

Quotations
"New nobility is but the act of power, but ancient nobility is the act of time" [Francis Bacon Essays]

Ranks of nobility

Ranks of British nobility (in order of precedence) royal duke or (fem.) royal duchess, duke or (fem.) duchess, marquess or marquis or (fem.) marchioness, earl or (fem.) countess, viscount or (fem.) viscountess, baron or (fem.) baroness, baronet

Ranks of foreign nobility archduke or (fem.) archduchess, boyar, burgrave, count or (fem.) countess, grand duke or (fem.) grand duchess, grandee, landgrave or (fem.) landgravine, marchese or (fem.) marchesa, margrave or (fem.) margravine, marquis or marquise, prince or (fem.) princess, vicomte or (fem.) vicomtesse

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

nobility

noun

1. People of the highest social level:

aristocracy, blue blood, crème de la crème, elite, flower, gentility, gentry, patriciate, quality, society, upper class, who's who.

Informal: upper crust.

2. Noble rank or status by birth:

birth, blood, blue blood, noblesse.

Translations

النُّبَلاءنُبْل، نَبالَه، أصالَه، شَرَف الشُّعور

аристокрация

šlechtaušlechtilostvznešenostšlechetnost

adelædelhednobelhed

Adel Vornehmheit

nobleza

aadel

aateli

noblesse

plemstvo

nemesség

aîallaîalsmannastétt

nobiltà nobilt...nobilt... d'animo

adel

adel edelhet nobelhet

благородство дворянство знать

šľachetnosť

asaletasillersoylularsoyluluk

贵族阶层高贵

nobility

[nəʊˈbɪlɪtɪ] N (all senses) → nobleza f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

nobility

[nəʊˈbɪlɪti] n

(quality) → noblesse f

(= nobles) → noblesse f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

nobility

n no pl

(= people) → (Hoch)adel m; she is one of the nobility → sie ist eine Adlige

(= quality) → Adel m, → Edle(s) nt; nobility of mind/thought → geistiger Adel; nobility of sentiment → edles Gefühl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

nobility

[nəʊˈbɪlɪtɪ] n → nobiltà

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

noble

(ˈnəubl) adjective

1. honourable; unselfish. a noble mind; a noble deed.

2. of high birth or rank. a noble family; of noble birth.

noun

a person of high birth. The nobles planned to murder the king.

noˈbility (-ˈbi-) noun

1. the state of being noble. the nobility of his mind/birth.

2. nobles ie dukes, earls etc. The nobility supported the king during the revolution.

ˈnobly adverb

He worked nobly for the cause of peace.

ˈnobleman – feminine ˈnoblewoman – noun

a noble. The king was murdered by a nobleman at his court.

References in classic literature ?

WE WILL speak of nobility, first as a portion of an estate, then as a condition of particular persons.

View in context

In the first were the nobility and gentry in their uniforms, in the second bearded merchants in full-skirted coats of blue cloth and wearing medals.

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Following the band came the nobility of Bunnybury, all richly dressed and hopping along on their rear legs.

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He despised the nobility, and believed the mass of the nobility to be secretly in favor of serfdom, and only concealing their views from cowardice.

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The first of these personages carried in his right hand a sword; the second, two golden keys; the third, a pair of scales; the fourth, a spade: and, in order to aid sluggish minds which would not have seen clearly through the transparency of these attributes, there was to be read, in large, black letters, on the hem of the robe of brocade, MY NAME IS NOBILITY; on the hem of the silken robe, MY NAME IS CLERGY; on the hem of the woolen robe, MY NAME IS MERCHANDISE; on the hem of the linen robe, MY NAME IS LABOR.

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Therefore, O my brethren, a NEW NOBILITY is needed, which shall be the adversary of all populace and potentate rule, and shall inscribe anew the word "noble" on new tables.

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Next above these come the Nobility, of whom there are several degrees, beginning at Six-Sided Figures, or Hexagons, and from thence rising in the number of their sides till they receive the honourable title of Polygonal, or many-sided.

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"His human fictions, as you choose to call them, make for nobility and manhood.

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Like most of the high nobility, who rightly enough believed that primogeniture and birth were of the last importance to THEM, she preferred to show her distaste for the present order of things, by which the youngest prince of a numerous family had been put upon the throne of the oldest, by remaining at her chateau.

View in context

This salon, in which the lesser nobility, the clergy, and the magistracy meet together, exerts a great influence.

View in context

Another sort of oligarchy is, when the power is an hereditary nobility. The fourth is, when the power is in the same hands as the other, but not under the control of law; and this sort of oligarchy exactly corresponds to a tyranny in monarchies, and to that particular species of democracies which I last mentioned in treating of that state: this has the particular name of a dynasty.

View in context

We were of the old Florentine nobility"-- Rowena's heart gave a great bound, her nostrils expanded, and a fine light played in her eyes--"and when the war broke out, my father was on the losing side and had to fly for his life.