nobility

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /noʊˈbɪlɪti/ UK /nəʊˈbɪlɪti/ See IPA manual

Freq #13084

Meanings

1

noun
The group of people in a society who have a high social rank, often with inherited titles; the aristocracy.

The castle was once home to the Scottish nobility.
2

noun
The quality of being honorable, generous, and morally good.

He showed great nobility of character by forgiving his rivals.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the group of people in a... aristocracy noblesseupper class

2 noun · the quality of being... nobleness grandeur

Word family

Forms nobilities

Derived forms antinobility

Etymology

From Old French nobilité, from Latin nobilitas. Equivalent to noble + -ity.

*ǵneh₃- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# nobility

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /noʊˈbɪlɪti/
**IPA (UK):** /nəʊˈbɪlɪti/
**Frequency rank:** 13084

## Meanings
1. The group of people in a society who have a high social rank, often with inherited titles; the aristocracy.
2. The quality of being honorable, generous, and morally good.

## Examples
- The castle was once home to the Scottish nobility.
- He showed great nobility of character by forgiving his rivals.

## Derived Forms
- antinobility

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ǵneh₃-

## Etymology
From Old French nobilité, from Latin nobilitas. Equivalent to noble + -ity.

## AI Etymology
Nobility comes from Old French nobilité, from Latin nobilitas. Equivalent to noble + -ity. Modern senses include the group of people in a society who have a high social rank, often with inherited titles; the aristocracy and the quality of being honorable, generous, and morally good. The wider word family includes derivatives such as antinobility.

## Topics
- People & Society

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