What does noble mean?

Definitions for noble
ˈnoʊ bəlno·ble

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word noble.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Lord, noble, noblemanadjective

    a titled peer of the realm

  2. baronial, imposing, noble, statelyadjective

    impressive in appearance

    "a baronial mansion"; "an imposing residence"; "a noble tree"; "severe-looking policemen sat astride noble horses"; "stately columns"

  3. nobleadjective

    of or belonging to or constituting the hereditary aristocracy especially as derived from feudal times

    "of noble birth"

  4. nobleadjective

    having or showing or indicative of high or elevated character

    "a noble spirit"; "noble deeds"

  5. nobleadjective

    inert especially toward oxygen

    "a noble gas such as helium or neon"; "noble metals include gold and silver and platinum"

Wiktionary

  1. noblenoun

    An aristocrat; one of aristocratic blood.

    This country house was occupied by nobles in the 16th century.

  2. noblenoun

    A medieval coin of England in the 14th and 15th centuries.

  3. nobleadjective

    Having honorable qualities; having moral eminence and freedom from anything petty, mean or dubious in conduct and character

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. NOBLEadjective

    Etymology: noble, Fr. nobilis, Latin.

    From virtue first began,
    The diff’rence that distinguish’d man from man.
    He claim’d no title from descent of blood,
    But that which made him noble, made him good. Dryd.

    Thus this man died, leaving his death for an example of a noble courage, and a memorial of virtue. 2 Mac. vi. 31.

    To vice industrious, but to nobler deeds
    Tim’rous. John Milton.

    A noble stroke he lifted high,
    Which hung not, but with tempest fell. John Milton.

    Those two great things that so engross the desires and designs of both the nobler and ignobler sort of mankind, are to be found in religion; namely, wisdom and pleasure. South.

    My share in pale Pyrene I resign,
    And claim no part in all the mighty nine:
    Statues, with winding ivy crown’d belong
    To nobler poets, for a nobler song. Dryd.

  2. Noblenoun

    Upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand. Ex. xxiv. 11.

    How many nobles then should hold their places,
    That must strike sail to spirits of vile sort! William Shakespeare.

    What the nobles once said in parliament, Nolumus leges Angliæ mutari, is imprinted in the hearts of all the people. Francis Bacon.

    The nobles amongst the Romans took special care in their last wills, that they might have a lamp in their monuments. John Wilkins, Math. Magic.

    See all our nobles begging to be slaves,
    See all our fools aspiring to be knaves. Alexander Pope, Dial. i.

    It may be the disposition of young nobles, that they expect the accomplishments of a good education without the least expence of time or study. Jonathan Swift, Modern Education.

    The second natural division of power, is of such men who have acquired large possessions, and consequently dependencies; or descend from ancestors who have left them great inheritances, together with an hereditary authority: these easily unite in thoughts and opinions. Thus commences a great council or senate of nobles, for the weighty affairs of the nation. Jonathan Swift.

    Shortly after he coined nobles, of noble, fair, and fine gold. William Camden, Remains.

    Many fair promotions
    Are daily given, to enoble those
    That scarce, some two days since, were worth a noble. Sha.

    Upon every writ procured for debt or damage, amounting to forty pounds or more, a noble, that is six shillings and eight-pence, is, and usually hath been paid to fine. Francis Bacon.

ChatGPT

  1. noble

    Noble generally refers to someone belonging to a hereditary class with high social or political status, aristocratic in nature, such as a duke, earl, or knight. It can also describe a person who possesses qualities of high moral qualities or ideals, such as generosity, courage, or honor. In another context, notably in chemistry, a noble substance refers to a gas that doesn't react easily with other elements.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Noble

    possessing eminence, elevation, dignity, etc.; above whatever is low, mean, degrading, or dishonorable; magnanimous; as, a noble nature or action; a noble heart

  2. Noble

    grand; stately; magnificent; splendid; as, a noble edifice

  3. Noble

    of exalted rank; of or pertaining to the nobility; distinguished from the masses by birth, station, or title; highborn; as, noble blood; a noble personage

  4. Noblenoun

    a person of rank above a commoner; a nobleman; a peer

  5. Noblenoun

    an English money of account, and, formerly, a gold coin, of the value of 6 s. 8 d. sterling, or about $1.61

  6. Noblenoun

    a European fish; the lyrie

  7. Nobleverb

    to make noble; to ennoble

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Noble

    nō′bl, adj. illustrious: high in rank or character: of high birth: magnificent: generous: excellent.—n. a person of exalted rank: a peer: an obsolete gold coin=6s. 8d. sterling.—n. Nō′bleman, a man who is noble or of rank: a peer: one above a commoner.—adj. Nō′ble-mind′ed, having a noble mind.—ns. Nōble-mind′edness; Nō′bleness, the quality of being noble: excellence in quality: dignity: greatness by birth or character: ingenuousness: worth; Nobless′, Noblesse′ (Spens.), nobility: greatness: the nobility collectively; Nō′blewoman, the fem. of Nobleman.—adv. Nō′bly.—Noble art, boxing; Noble metals (see Metal).—Most noble, the style of a duke. [Fr.,—L. nobilis, obs. gnobilisnoscĕre (gnoscĕre), to know.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Noble

    a gold coin first minted by Edward III., formerly current in the country; worth 6s. 8d., and ultimately 10s., when the value of the gold increased.

Suggested Resources

  1. noble

    Song lyrics by noble -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by noble on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. NOBLE

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Noble is ranked #829 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Noble surname appeared 41,667 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 14 would have the surname Noble.

    77.6% or 32,371 total occurrences were White.
    14.4% or 6,000 total occurrences were Black.
    3.4% or 1,417 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    2.1% or 883 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    1.6% or 688 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.7% or 308 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

British National Corpus

  1. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'noble' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3138

  2. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'noble' in Adjectives Frequency: #830

How to pronounce noble?

How to say noble in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of noble in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of noble in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of noble in a Sentence

  1. Helen Keller:

    No loss by flood and lightning, no destruction of cities and temples by hostile forces of nature, has deprived man of so many noble lives and impulses as those which his intolerance has destroyed.

  2. Demosthenes:

    It is impossible for those who are engaged in low and grovelling pursuits to entertain noble and generous sentiments. Their thoughts must always necessarily be somewhat similar to their employments.

  3. Tieck:

    He is not dead who departs from life with a high and noble fame; but he is dead, even while living, whose brow is branded with infamy.

  4. John Alexander Smith, Speech to Oxford University students, 1914:

    Gentlemen, you are now about to embark on a course of studies which will occupy you for two years. Together, they form a noble adventure. But I would like to remind you of an important point. Nothing that you will learn in the course of your studies will be of the slightest possible use to you in after life, save only this, that if you work hard and intelligently you should be able to detect when a man is talking rot, and that, in my view, is the main, if not the sole, purpose of education.

  5. Anjem Choudary:

    If Muslims go anywhere in the world to defend their brethren this is a good thing. Of course it should be permitted to go and fight, anyone who goes and stands alongside them is noble. In anyone’s book it is the right thing to do.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

noble#1#5214#10000

Translations for noble

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for noble »

Translation

Find a translation for the noble definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"noble." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/noble>.

Discuss these noble definitions with the community:

1 Comment
  • Lovisa Evans
    Lovisa Evans
    Hi! Does anyone know of a symbol that represents the word "noble"?
    LikeReply4 years ago

Are we missing a good definition for noble? Don't keep it to yourself...

Free, no signup required:

Add to Chrome

Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

Free, no signup required:

Add to Firefox

Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

Browse Definitions.net

Quiz

Are you a words master?

»
weak or sickly person especially one morbidly concerned with his or her health
A flabby
B commensal
C valetudinarian
D currish

Nearby & related entries:

Alternative searches for noble: