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definitions

nobility

[noh-bil-i-tee]
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noun, plural no·bil·i·ties.

the noble class or the body of nobles in a country.
(in Britain) the peerage.
the state or quality of being noble.
nobleness of mind, character, or spirit; exalted moral excellence.
grandeur or magnificence.
noble birth or rank.

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RELATED WORDS

dignity, generosity, superiority, virtue, greatness, integrity, grandeur, magnanimity, majesty, society, elevation, incorruptibility, ennoblement, exaltation, royalty, gentry, magnificence, elite, loftiness, glorification

Origin of nobility

1350–1400; Middle English nobilite < Latin nōbilitās. See noble, -ity
Related formsnon·no·bil·i·ty, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nobility

Contemporary Examples of nobility

Historical Examples of nobility

  • Her woman's intuition was sufficient guarantee of the nobility of his character.

    The Monster Men

    Edgar Rice Burroughs

  • There was in this man an Oriental nobility choked by Western fashion and customs.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • Yet even in this environment of evil we see the nobility of the man, and his real self.

    A Dish Of Orts

    George MacDonald

  • Is it a good sign, that he wishes to see Royalty and Nobility?

    A Tale of Two Cities

    Charles Dickens

  • My last was James Glencairn, so you can have no objection to the company of nobility.

British Dictionary definitions for nobility

nobility

noun plural -ties

a socially or politically privileged class whose titles are conferred by descent or by royal decree
the state or quality of being morally or spiritually good; dignitythe nobility of his mind
(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 & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for nobility
n.

mid-14c., "quality of being excellent or rare," from Old French nobilite "high rank; dignity, grace; great deed" (12c., Modern French nobilité), and directly from Latin nobilitatem (nominative nobilitas) "celebrity, fame; high birth; excellence, superiority; the nobles," from nobilis "well-known, prominent" (see noble (adj.)). Meaning "quality of being of noble rank or birth" is attested from late 14c.; sense of "noble class collectively" is from 1520s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper