▪ I. noble, a. and n.1
(ˈnəʊb(ə)l)
Forms: 4–6 nobul, 4–5 -ulle, 6 -ull; 4–6 nobyl, 5 -ylle, 5–6 -yll; 4–6 nobil, (4 -ile), 4–7 nobill, (5 -ille); 5–6 nobel, nowble, 3– noble.
[a. F. noble (= Sp. noble, It. nobile), ad. L. nōbilis, f. the stem (g)nō- to know: see -ble.]
A. adj. I. 1. a. Illustrious or distinguished by position, character, or exploits. (Usu. implying senses 2 and 4, and now merged in these.)
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 54 Hire ueader & hire breðren, se noble princes alse heo weren. c 1290 St. Kath. 15 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 92 Riche Aumperour þou art, swiþe noble and hende. a 1352 Minot Poems (ed. Hall) vii. 18 Þus haue I mater for to make For a nobill prince sake. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 2 He is a noble man of armes. a 1400–50 Alexander 985 Lo! maisterlynges of massydon, so myghty & so noble. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 703 Sone besyde him he gat ane sicht of the Nobill King. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Brit. 1 Gawyn, and Lancelotte, and many other noble knightes. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 14 b, Syns that so noble Princes had such an opinion of him. 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa 47 They esteeme themselues the most noble and worthy people vnder the heauens. 1750 Gray Long Story 141 God save our noble King. |
b. Of actions: Illustrious, great.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 2 We suld..hald in mynde thar nobille worthi deid. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cv. 1 Who can expresse y⊇ noble actes of the Lorde, or shewe forth all his prayse? 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 427 The noble feates of Chiualrie and Martiall actes. c 1586 Mourn. Muse 186 in Spenser's Wks. (Globe) 565/2 [He] doth tell Thy noble acts anew. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. v. iii. 237 What poore an Instrument May do a Noble deede. |
2. a. Illustrious by rank, title, or birth; belonging to that class in the community which has a titular pre-eminence over the others;
spec. belonging to, or forming, the nobility of a country or state.
In early use not clearly distinct from sense 1.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 701 Ich þe wole marie wel..To þe nobloste bacheler. a 1300 Cursor M. 17169 If þou neuer sa nobul war, Quat thing moght i giue þe mare? a 1352 Minot Poems (ed. Hall) viii. 65 Þe nobill burgase and þe best Come vnto him. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) vi. 20 He gers bring before him all þe nobilest and þe fairest maydens. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 204 For the whyche proesses this nobill erle shold nat vaynglory haue. 1535 Coverdale 1 Macc. i. 6 He called for his noble estates..& parted his kyngdome amonge them. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. iv. 21 A Thursday tell her, She shall be married to this Noble Earle. 1631 Heywood London's Jus Hon. Wks. 1874 IV. 265 More faire and famous it is to be made, then to be borne Noble. 1648 Nicholas Papers (Camden) I. 89 For many other reasons, which I presume those noble persons had in their consideracions. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 274 ¶2 The Copy of a Letter written..to a noble Lord. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) III. 68 The church..derives the last name from its noble founder. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 47 All the noblest and most opulent members of their church.., except Lord Arundell. 1893 K. D. Wiggin Cathed. Courtship 58 Lady De Wolfe's husband has been noble only four months. |
| absol. a 1400–50 Alexander 481 Princes & dukis, With maisterlingis of Messadone & many oþire noble. |
b. Of birth, blood, family, etc.
| c 1290 St. Kath. 1 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 92 Seinte Katerine of noble kunne cam. a 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iii. metr. vi. (1868) 79 Þanne comen alle mortal folk of noble seed. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xxi. 62, I slew a knyght of a noble blode. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 2 b, This Thomas comming of a noble house, gave him self wholy to learning. 1611 Bible 2 Macc. xiv. 42 Chusing rather to die manfully, then..to be abused otherwise then beseemed his noble birth. 1657 Earl of Monmouth tr. Paruta's Pol. Disc. 79 Any witty Citizen, or hopefull Young-man of noble extract. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. ii. iii. iii. (1710) 437 The Noble Order of Knights of the Thistle..was revived by King James VII. 1808 Scott Marm. i. vii, Two gallant squires, Of noble name, and knightly sires. |
c. Pertaining to, connected with, a person or persons of high rank. Also
transf. in chess.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 155 Now amende He mai wel thurgh your noble grace. 1504 in Leadam Sel. Cas. Crt. Requests (Selden Soc.) 8 Your said Oratour..hadde begon to colour dyvers reed hides for your noble vse. 1534 More in Roper Life (1822) 118 The first lesson..that ever his Grace gave me at my first comming into his noble service. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. ii. 116 At your noble pleasure. 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) 46 When any Pawn..seats himself in any of his Noble houses, he is dignified with the..power of a Queen. |
† 3. Distinguished for genius or skill.
Obs.| c 1400 Cursor M. 28846 (Cott.-Galba), Saynt Aniane, þat nobill clerk, Sais almus es goddes awin werk. a 1400–50 Alexander 3132 (Dubl.), He gart seke þair sarys, & þaim salue With surgers [v.r. surgens] noble. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxiii. 61 This noble cunning sort, Quhom of befoir I did report. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. Prol. 3 Thay being so noble Seymen, and sa expert in sayling. |
4. a. Having high moral qualities or ideals; of a great or lofty character. (Also used ironically.)
noble savage, primitive man, conceived of in the manner of Rousseau as morally superior to civilized man.
| 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. v. v. 68 This was the Noblest Roman of them all. 1641 Baker Chron. (1653) 179 King Iohn..had the happinesse to fall into the hands of a Noble enemy. 1672 [see savage n. 2]. 1778 F. Burney Evelina lxxv, Tell me if he is not the noblest of men? 1829 Digby Broadst. Hon. I. Godefridus 223 The soldiers of Pavia were more noble than their Emperor Frederic II when they remonstrated against his barbarous execution of the Parmesan prisoners. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxvii. 29 Truly a noble father, a glorious act of affection! 1892 19th Cent. July 118 The life of one of the noblest of a long list of noble names. 1914 C. Mackenzie Sinister Street II. iii. vi. 628 Every new writer who commands any attention drags out the old idol of the Noble Savage and invites us to worship him. Only now the Noble Savage has been put into corduroy trousers. 1933 J. Cary Amer. Visitor vii. 72 Her publisher..belonged to the most modern school of anthropologists and believed in the Golden Age, the noble savage, and all the other resuscitated fancies of Rousseau. 1947 English Studies XXVIII. 1 He is prevented from depicting the enemies..in..sinister colours by his interest in the romantic dream of the noble savage. 1954 W. S. Maugham Ten Novels i. viii. 201 Let us not forget that Typee is a glorification of the noble savage, uncorrupted by the vices of civilization, and that Melville looked upon the natural man as good. 1971 G. Steiner In Bluebeard's Castle iii. 52 The myth of the noble savage had interiorized a powerful hierarchic dogma. 1972 Daily Tel. 11 Dec. 11/1 They believe in the moral superiority of primitive over civilised man. As a potent idea, the Noble Savage died 100 years ago. But it lives for the Ardens in..the Indian peasants, the exploited Irish. |
b. Of the mind or nature.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 35 The noblest mind the best contentment has. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 419 Some little memory of me will stirre him (I know his Noble Nature). 1624 Wotton Elem. Archit. Pref. in Reliq. (1651) 195 Architecture can want no commendation where there are..Noble Mindes. 1700 Dryden Wife of Bath's T. 384 The nobleman is he whose noble mind Is filled with inborn worth. |
5. a. Proceeding from, characteristic of, indicating or displaying, greatness of character.
| 1503 Dunbar Thistle & Rose 119 [The lion] Quhois noble yre is parcere prostratis. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 57 Whether 'tis Nobler in the minde to suffer The Slings and Arrowes of outragious Fortune. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 218, I will not omit to speake of two Noble usages of the King of Swethland towards his Souldiers. 1729 Law Serious C. ii. (1732) 19 Then he will know that there is nothing noble in a Clergyman but a burning zeal for the Salvation of Souls. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 218 Numberless accounts assure us that his anger is noble. 1809 Wordsw. Sonn. Liberty ii. xix. 12 To whose all-pondering mind a noble aim, Faithfully kept, is as a noble deed. 1851 Ruskin Stones Ven. (1874) I. i. 7 The noble pride which was provoked by the insolence of the emperor. 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 10 The too neglected list of good causes lost, and noble effort wasted. |
b. Characterized by moral superiority or dignity; elevated, lofty.
| 1738 Gray Propertius ii. 53 You whose young bosoms feel a nobler flame. 1774 J. Bryant Mythol. II. 96 They..carry the sciences.., instruct the natives... These are to be sure noble occurrences. 1818 Byron Ch. Har. iv. cxlvii, Relic of nobler days, and noblest arts! 1831 Society I. 25 With a zeal worthy of a nobler cause. 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 4 The noblest collective tradition of free intellect which the achievements of the race could then hand down. |
II. 6. a. Distinguished by splendour, magnificence, or stateliness of appearance; of imposing or impressive proportions or dimensions.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 71 In þe priorie of wiricestre, Þat noble hous and gret is. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 896 Romulus & remeus..Bigonne þo verst rome þat noble cite is. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 1097 Þis noble cite of ryche enpresse. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame i. 469 When I had seen al this syghte In this noble temple thus. c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 6 They wyll bylde at Colman hedge in space A nother noble mansyon. 1577 Harrison Descr. Brit. xi. in Holinshed I. 52 Being past Rochester, this noble riuer goeth to Chatham. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Amb. 228 We cross'd..over a very fair stone bridge, containing six noble Arches. 1703 Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 142 These noble Trees grow amongst the Snow. 1726 Swift Gulliver i. v, The rest of that noble Pile..[was] preserved from Destruction. 1779 J. Moore View Soc. II. lvii. 77 The gallery which contains them is a very noble room. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey vi. i, They ascended a noble stair⁓case. 1842 Borrow Bible in Spain xxxiv, It possesses a noble quay. |
| absol. 1741 C'tess Pomfret Corr. (1805) III. 202 Nor is this shore destitute of the noble as well as the agreeable. |
b. Splendid, stately, magnificent.
rare.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1503 Þe oþer kinges echon Hit dude..& in so noble fourme non. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1159 The gret Alpha & Oo,..For that nobyll tryumphe, had hem thedyr sent. c 1500 Melusine 214 They were espoused & maryed togidre, & was the feste holden right grete & noble. |
7. a. Having qualities or properties of a very high or admirable kind.
Freq. in the comparative and superlative, denoting superiority to other things of the same name.
| c 1305 St. Kenelm in E.E.P. (1862) 55 Whan hit out of heuene com..What noblerere relik miȝte þer beo. c 1375 Cursor M. 25116 (Fairf.), Þer is na praier þat is squa noble of þe mikilnes. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love ii. i. (Skeat) I. 106 A final cause is noblerer, or els even as noble, as thilke thing that is finally to thilke ende. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 146 The moste noble Creature Of alle tho that God hath wroght. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 248 God..send me sentence to say, substantious & noble. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 114 The Horse.., the noblest, the goodliest,..and the trustiest beast that we vse in our seruice. 1631 Widdowes Nat. Philos. 50 Sences of certaine parts are more or lesse noble. The nobler are Seeing, and Hearing. 1684 R. Waller Nat. Exp. 132 In Waters generally held the lightest, purest, and noblest, the little cloud is thinner. 1725 N. Robinson Th. Physick 211 Highly dangerous is it for those, that have been us'd to the most generous Wines, suddenly to abandon those Noble Liquors. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 49 So we find that the noblest animals are ever the least fruitful. 1835 Penny Cycl. III. 421/2 The noble race of Barbary horses which we commonly call barbs. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 16 In all bodily actions, not quietness, but the greatest agility and quickness, is noblest and best. |
b. Of precious stones, metals, or minerals. Also (
i)
spec. of a metal: resisting oxidation; relatively unreactive. Hence of any element: low in the electrochemical series.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 57 He the Ston noblest of alle, The which that men Carbuncle calle Berth in his hed. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvi. xlvii. (Bodl. MS.), Precious stones..ben ifounde..in passinge grete vertue, whan þey bene noble and verrei. Ibid. xiv. iii, Noble metall is ymynyd oute of veynes and mountayns. 1666 Boyle Orig. Formes & Qual. 360 Our Menstruum may have a particular operation upon some Noble..parts of the Gold. 1708 J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 17 Was it ever heard of, or known that this Noble, this Main-Coale, was sold..for 8s. per Chaldron? 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) II. 89 The three first [Gold, Platina, Silver] and Quicksilver commonly called Noble and Perfect metals. 1813 R. Bakewell Introd. Geol. 79 Many specimens have the characters of the precious or noble serpentine. 1842 Parnell Chem. Anal. (1845) 96 Silver and palladium are the only noble metals which dissolve in melted bisulphate of potash. Note. Noble metals are those which do not become converted into oxides, but remain bright when heated in the air. 1855 Orr's Circ. Sci., Geol. 510 Noble opal, or precious opal, includes all those specimens which exhibit the play of prismatic colours. 1907 E. S. Merriam tr. Danneel's Electrochem. v. 134 Metals whose solution pressure is less than that of hydrogen..have a negative potential. The same thing is meant when we speak of the ‘nobility’ of the metals; silver is more noble than zinc, and zinc is less noble than hydrogen, etc. 1938 R. W. Lawson tr Hevesy & Paneth's Man. Raidioactivity (ed. 2) xxii. 218 They can only be contemplated for those radio-elements which are to some extent electrochemically noble, and hence especially for the isotopes of lead, bismuth, and polonium. 1956 E. C. Potter Electrochem. x. 234 We may summarize this mode of corrosion..by saying ‘it is unwise to permit a metal to contact an aqueous solution of a salt of a metal more noble than itself’. 1973 Nature 20 July 137/1 After a beta transformation the daughter element is electrochemically more noble than the mother element. 1974 Sci. Amer. Jan. 33/3 If..one puts the corroding metal in contact with a ‘nobler’ (less active) metal on which the cathodic reaction can proceed more easily, the corrosion current and hence the rate of dissolution of metal can be increased significantly. |
(
ii)
noble gas:
= inert gas (b)
s.v. inert a. 1 c. So
noble liquid, one of the noble gases in the liquid state.
noble gas is now the term officially preferred by the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry.
| 1902 J. I. D. Hinds Inorg. Chem. xviii. 151 The name Noble Gases has been given by Erdmann to the several rare and inactive elements which have recently been discovered. 1927 [see inert a. 1 c (b)]. 1950 Electronic Engin. XXII. 108 Electron tubes filled with a noble gas such as argon, neon or helium are now widely employed. 1971 Nomencl. Inorg. Chem. (I.U.P.A.C.) (ed. 2) 11 The use of the collective names..alkaline-earth metals (Ca to Ra), and noble gases [ed. 1 (1959): inert gases] may be continued. 1971 Nature 29 Oct. 617/1 We are working towards the development of a thin multiconductor chamber filled with a noble liquid. 1974 Sci. Amer. Aug. 48/3 Soon after Bartlett's announcement several other noble-gas compounds were made, chief among them the xenon flourides (XeF2, XeF4 and XeF6) and xenon trioxide (XeO3). |
c. Of parts of the body,
spec. of those without which life cannot be maintained, as the heart, lungs, etc.
| 1632 Sherwood s.v., The noble parts of the body. 1656 Ridgley Pract. Physick 12 Especially if it be near a noble part. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. Introd., The Bellies are certain remarkeable Cavities of the Body, wherein some noble bowel is placed. 1721 Bradley Acc. Wks. Nat. 67 The Flounder and many others will live a long time after their Bowels and more noble parts are taken out of them. 1733 Cheyne Eng. Malady ii. viii. §2 (1734) 193 Attended with no..Disease, or no noble Organ entirely spoil'd. 1843 Abdy Water Cure 44 A diseased function of one of the nobler organs. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 100 The overgrowth of the neuroglia tissue at the expense of the noble elements. |
d. Of hawks. (See
ignoble a. 1 b.)
| 1614 Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 161 The Soule, like unto some noble Hauke, lets passe the crowes. 1833 Mudie Brit. Birds (1841) I. 79 The old division of noble and ignoble hawks. 1867 Duke of Argyll Reign of Law iii. (ed. 4) 166 The Hawks have been classified as ‘noble’ or ‘ignoble’, according to the length and sharpness of their wings. |
e. In some specific names, as
noble agrimony,
noble liverwort (
q.v.),
noble orange.
| 1861 Bentley Man. Bot. (1887) 501 Other varieties are sometimes imported, as the Noble or Mandarin Orange and the Tangerine Orange. |
f. noble rot = pourriture noble.
| [1924 H. W. Allen Wines of France ii. 114 The Botrytis produces a grey mould, which gives to other wines a most unpleasant taste, but in Sauternes that mould is the pourriture noble, the ‘noble rottenness’, which bestows on the grapes and the wines made from them their extraordinary richness of sweetness and perfume.] 1935 Schoonmaker & Marvel Compl. Wine Bk. i. 12 It is necessary to leave the grapes on the vine until they are..over-ripe, sugary and shrunken, until that so-called ‘noble rot’ (la pourriture noble) has set in. 1959 W. James Word-Bk Wine 133 The noble rot also produces glycerine, which gives the wine a fine liqueur-like oiliness. 1965 A. Sichel Penguin Bk. Wines 194 To every hectolitre (22 gallons) off the fermenting must of the Furmint and Harslevelii grape they [sc. Hungarians producing Tokay] add 3, 4, 5 or 6 puttony of the grapes concentrated by the ‘noble rot’. 1973 Country Life 15 Nov. 1535/3 The German vintage..lacking the ‘noble rot’ which produces the more luscious auslese and beerenauslese wines. 1975 P. V. Price Taste of Wine 53/1 The primarily sweet wines may have some grapes affected by noble rot, but there is a profundity and a distinctive after-taste to those that are chiefly made with nobly rotten grapes. |
8. a. Splendid, admirable, surpassingly good.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 11882 (Cott.), Medicine sal þou of vs take, A nobul bath we sal þe make. c 1375 Ibid. 3723 (Fairf.), Nobil venysoun þat I þe bringe. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 21 Bernard wroot meny nobil bookes. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xiv. 61 Þer er þerin..grete medews and noble pasture for bestez. c 1440 York Myst. xxvi. 133 An oynement That nobill was and newe. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xxi. v. 849 Than hym thought synne and shame to throwe awaye that nobyl swerde. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 5 We haue not taken theyr errours, but the noble verytees or treuthes of philosophy. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 92 b, Of the Mulberie is made a verie noble medicine for the stomacke. 1626 Bacon Sylva §401 This is a noble Experiment; for, without this help, they would have been four times as long in coming up. 1662 J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 99 When the president was to take leave of him, he presented him with a noble coverlet of Watte. 1759 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 61/2, I..gave him a noble dose of great guns and small arms. 1775 Sheridan Duenna iii. i, See that there be a noble supper provided. 1877 Dowden Shaks. Primer vi. 77 There is noble material for tragic poetry here. 1899 Besant Orange Girl i. i, He drank a great deal of port, of which he possessed a noble cellar. |
† b. Notable, very great.
Obs. rare.
| 1604 Supplic. Masse Priests i, As they affirme, and therein tell a most noble and remarkeable untruth. 1694 Salmon Bate's Dispens. (1713) 516/2 It cannot be done without a noble Diminution of some of their best parts. |
9. the noble science (of defence) or noble art, the art of (
† fencing, or) boxing.
| c 1588 in Tarlton's Jests (1844) p. xii, Richard Tarlton, master of the noble syence of deffence. c 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Knt. Burn. Pestle ii. i, A bold defiance Shall meet him, were he of the noble science. 1620 Melton Astrolog. 30 Like so many Masters of the Noble Science of Defence, they strive to breake the head of each other's reputation. 1726 in Hone Every-day Bk. II. 782 Professor of the Noble Science of Defence. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones iii. iv, Tom was much his superior at the noble art of boxing. 1839 Radcliffe (title) The Noble Science, with a few general ideas on Fox-Hunting. |
10. Comb., as
noble-couraged,
noble-gartered,
noble-hearted (-ness),
noble-natured,
noble-spirited,
noble-tempered;
noble-ending,
noble-looking adjs.;
noble-wise adv.| 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer iv. (1577) Vj b, Wicked Tirans againste whome these *noble couraged Demi⁓gods kepte continuall..warre. |
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. vi. 27 A Testament of *noble-ending loue. |
| 1659 R. Wild Poems (1870) 16 The *noble-gartered ‘Honi soit’. |
| 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London I. 227 A *noble-hearted, but unfortunate..brother. 1856 Lever Martins of Cro' M. 384 The people, the noble-hearted people, are the conquerors. |
| 1879 L. Shepherd tr. Guéranger's Liturg. Year I. ii. 7 The *noble-heartedness of those defenders of the Law of God. |
| 1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Fam. I. 277 She was a tall *noble-looking woman. 1865 J. H. Ingraham Pillar of Fire (1872) 305, I regarded this noble-looking bond woman with surprise. |
| 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 456 The boy Is *noble-natured. |
| 1617 Hieron Wks. II. 403 Well fare that *noble-spirited souldier. 1848 Buckley Iliad 303 A lion coming among a herd, tawny, noble-spirited. |
| 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 413 It hath been alwaies the Aimes of the *Noblest-temper'd Spirits. a 1618 Sylvester St. Lewis 576 Wks. (Grosart) II. 235 How happy is the Prince, who..Thinks not himselfe to raign; save Noblewise. |
B. n.1 1. a. A man of noble rank; a member of the nobility.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxlix. 8 To bynde..þe nobils of þaim in manykils of yryn. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 253 Ther stoden ek the nobles alle Forth with the comun of the toun. c 1400 Destr. Troy 13813 To þat noble, onone, ho neghit agayne. c 1450 Holland Howlat 437 With his estatis in the steid, and nobillis ynewe. 1471 Fortescue Wks. (1869) 539 The councell and assent of the nobles temporals of the londe. 1538 Starkey England i. iv. 129 Another yl custume among the nobyllys there ys, that euery one of them wyl kepe a court lyke a prynce. 1593 Shakes. Rich II, ii. i. 247 The nobles hath he finde For ancient quarrels, and quite lost their hearts. c 1645 Howell Lett. i. xviii, That regicide was hack'd to pieces..by the nobles. 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4364/1 The Princes of the Throne..are understood to act in the Solemnity as Nobles of Rome. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 221 It consists chiefly of nobles and landed gentry. 1822 Byron Werner iv. i, In league with the most riotous of our young nobles. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India I. 65 The opposition..of the turbulent nobles and officers of the court. 1861 Buckle Hist. Civ. (1903) II. 89 In France..the great nobles held their lands, not so much by grant, as by prescription. |
† b. A noble or famous person.
nine nobles, the nine worthies.
Obs. rare.
| c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1116 Than thei nobillis at neid yeid to thair note new. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 698 This Godefryde..Quhilk numberit is amang the nobillis nyne. 1549 Compl. Scot. 4 To be ane of the principal of al the nyne noblis. |
c. A leader or protector of men hired to replace striking workers.
U.S. slang.| 1930 Amer. Mercury Dec. 456/2 Noble, a guard for strike breakers. ‘Me work? Don't be foolish. I'm a noble, I am.’ 1937 N.Y. Times 22 Dec. 22 Noble, a lieutenant of strike operations usually in charge of a detachment of guards, sluggers and finks. 1950 H. E. Goldin Dict. Amer. Underworld Lingo 145/2 Noble (rare), a guard hired to protect strike-breakers. 1960 Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 356/2 Noble. 1. A strike-breaker's guard. 2. The boss of a gang of strike-breakers; a chief fink. |
2. a. A former English gold coin, first minted by Edward III: by 1550 its value had settled at 6
s. 8
d. Also
George-,
thistle noble;
angel,
rose noble: see these words.
[The following are some of the older statements relative to the value of the noble at different periods:—
| 1387 Trevisa Higden VI. 259 A duket þat is worþy half an Englisshe noble. c 1450 Chron. Eng. (MS. Bodl. 754) lf. 132 [The] floreyne that was cleped the noble, valewe vjs. and viijd. 1469 in Archaeol. XV. 167 One pece therof rennyng for x.s. of sterlings, which shalbe called the noble of gold. 1542 Recorde Gr. Artes (1575) 197 An olde Noble, called an Henrye, is worthe 2 Crownes,..that is 10 s. Ibid., A Noble, called a George, is worth 6 s. 8 d. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 666/1, I doe put onely seaven nobles rent and composition.., that is 40s. for composition, and 6s. 8d. for cheiferie to her Majestie. 1685 Baxter Paraphr. N.T. Mark xiv. 45 Fifty two French crowns, and a half a crown is 6s. 8d., our Noble. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), A Noble is also a Scotch Coin worth 61/4d. English, and of which three make a Pound.] |
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 46 Heo tolde him a tale and tok him a noble, For to ben hire beode-mon. 1436 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 175 By iiij. pens lesse in the noble rounde, That is xij. pens in the golden pounde. 1496–7 Act 12 Hen. VII, c. 6 Preamble, Att whiche tyme the seid fyne was but of the value of halfe an olde noble sterling. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxiii. 201 He payed for his raunsome sixe thousande nobuls. 1551 T. Wilson Logike (1580) 8 b, A Priest had a Noble for preachyng a funerall sermon. 1613 R. C. Times' Whistle iv. 1443 For a noble I'le stand thy friend, & healp thee out of trouble. 1677 A. Yarranton Eng. Impr. 110, I would that I had met this Countrey-man Forty years ago, it had been Five hundred Nobles in my way. 1714 Lond. Gaz. No. 5207/3 John Meeres of Gosport..was..Fined Twenty Nobles. 1821 Scott Kenilw. iii, She may aid me to melt my nobles into groats. 1873 Dixon Two Queens IV. xix. i. 5 Henry heard him play, and tossed him twenty nobles. |
b. In
phr. to bring one's noble to ninepence, etc., denoting wasteful extravagance. Now
rare or
Obs.| 1568 U. Fulwell Like Will to Like D iv, Tom tospot since he went hence, Hath increased a noble iust vnto nine pence. 1660 Howell Parly of Beasts 59 You make the poor husband oftentimes to turn a noble to nine-pence. 1699 R. L'Estrange Erasm. Colloq. (1711) 299, I have e'en brought a noble to nine-pence. 1782 V. Knox Ess. clxx. (1819) III. 249, I do not bring my noble to ninepence and my ninepence to nothing. |
▪ II. ˈnoble, n.2 Sc. [? f. prec.] (See
quot.)
| 1808 Jamieson, Nobles, the Pogge, or Armed Bullhead, a fish... This is the name at Newhaven. 1810 Neill List Fishes 9 (Jam.). |
▪ III. † ˈnoble, v. Obs. [f. noble a. Cf. ennoble v., and OF. noblir (rare).] trans. To make noble, to ennoble. Also
† ˈnobled ppl. a.| c 1386 Chaucer Sec. Nun's T. 40 Thow nobledest so ferforth oure nature, That no desdeyn the makere hadde [etc.]. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas i. xii. (1544) 23 This town was nobled by title of other thinges. 1493 Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 171 Almes..is a holy thynge, for it..multyplyeth thy eres & nobleth the mynde. 1550 Bale Eng. Votaries i. 77 b, Onlye is it Gods true knowledge, that nobleth yow before hym. 1554 in Harington's Nugæ Ant. (1804) I. 58 Suffer your nobled humanitie to overcome the contrarie perswasions. 1595 W. Clarke Polimanteia T, Haue you not had..a Princesse truelie nobled with all vertues. 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 353 Your nobling and divining him elsewhere would not serve your turne. |