adjectivethird-declension two-termination adjective
nōbilis
nōbilis (neuter nōbile, comparative nōbilior, superlative nōbilissimus)
Classical[ˈnoː.bɪ.lɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈnɔː.bi.lis]
№ 455 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- two terminationnoble, high-born
- two terminationdistinct, able to be known, famous, celebrated
- Old Latintwo terminationknown, famous; acquainted, familiar
Vindicate, ne impiorum potior sit pollentia
c. 211 BCE, Plautus, Rudens 3.2.4–5Cum his mihi nec locus
c. 191 BCE, Plautus, Pseudolus 4.7.9–10
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
clārā gente nātus; omnibus nōtus.nōbilis -e — in Mille Verba, Urbs et Aedificia
clārus, generōsusnōbilis -e — in Evangelium secundum Marcum, ch. 21
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Celeber · Inclytus · Clarus · Illustris · Nobilis.
Celeber; Inclytus; Clarus; Illustris; Nobilis. Celeber (from κλέος) and inclytus (from κλυτός) denote celebrity, as general expressions, chiefly as belonging to things, and seldom as belonging to persons, except in poetry; clarus, illustris, and nobilis, with an especial political reference; clarus (γαληρός) means renowned for eminent services to one’s country; illustris (from ἀναλεύσσω) renowned for rank and virtue; nobilis (from novisse) belonging to a family whose members have already been invested with the honors of the state.
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | nōbilis | nōbilis | nōbile |
| genitive | nōbilis | nōbilis | nōbilis |
| dative | nōbilī | nōbilī | nōbilī |
| accusative | nōbilem | nōbilem | nōbile |
| ablative | nōbilī | nōbilī | nōbilī |
| vocative | nōbilis | nōbilis | nōbile |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | nōbilēs | nōbilēs | nōbilia |
| genitive | nōbilium | nōbilium | nōbilium |
| dative | nōbilibus | nōbilibus | nōbilibus |
| accusative | nōbilīs nōbilēs | nōbilīs nōbilēs | nōbilia |
| ablative | nōbilibus | nōbilibus | nōbilibus |
| vocative | nōbilēs | nōbilēs | nōbilia |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- nobili, honesto, illustri loco or genere natus
- of illustrious family.
- nobiles; nobilitas; qui nobilitate generis excellunt
- the aristocracy (as a social class).
nōbĭlis, e (old collat. form gnōbĭlis: nobilem antiqui pro noto ponebant, et quidem per g litteram, ut Plautus in Pseudolo: peregrina facies videtur hominis atque ignobilis, et: oculis meis obviam ignobilis obicitur. Attius in Diomede: ergo me Argos referam, nam hic sum gnobilis. Livius in Virgo: ornamento incedunt gnobili ignobiles, Paul. ex Fest. p. 174 Müll.), adj. for gnobilis, from gnosco; Gr. γιγνώσκω; v. nosco,
I. that can be known or is known, knowable, known.
I. In gen. (very rare):
neque his umquam nobilis fui, Plaut. Ps. 4, 7, 9: addidit facinori fidem nobili gaudio, Tac. H. 3, 39.—II. In partic.
A. Wellknown, famous, noted, celebrated, renowned (freq. and class.; cf.:
clarus, insignis, inclutus, illustris): die festo celebri nobilique, Aphrodisiis, Plaut. Poen. 3, 5, 13: magnus et nobilis rhetor Isocrates, Cic. Inv. 2, 2, 7: illustre et nobile municipium, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 16, § 40: oppidum clarum et nobile, id. ib. 2, 1, 24, § 63: ex doctrinā nobilis et clarus, id. Rab. Post. 9, 23: gladiatorum par nobilissimum, id. Opt. Gen. 6, 17: multi in philosophiā praeclari et nobiles, id. de Or. 1, 11, 46: ut arcendis sceleribus exemplum nobile esset, Liv. 2, 5: Corinthus aere, Ov. M. 6, 416: puerosque Ledae, Hunc equis, illum superare pugnis Nobilem, Hor. C. 1, 12, 25: palma nobilis, id. ib. 1, 1, 5: nobilis e tectis fundere gaesa rotis, Prop. 4 (5), 10, 42. tamquam Feceris ipse aliquid propter quod nobilis esses, Juv. 8, 41: aquae salubritate et medendis corporibus nobiles. Vell. 2, 25, 4: vitulis marinis ad multa nobile fel, Plin. 11, 37, 75, § 195: emplastra nobilia ad extrahendum fel, Cels. 5, 19: Cicero vir nobilissimae novitatis, Vell. 2, 34, 3.—In a bad sense, notorious: innocentes qui se scelere fieri nolunt nobiles, Plaut. Rud. 3, 2, 5: mea (amica) est potens, procax, magnifica, sumtuosa, nobilis, Ter. Heaut. 2, 1, 15: ille nobilis taurus, quem Phalaris habuisse dicitur, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 33, § 73; Liv. 39, 9, 5.—B. High-born, of noble birth, noble, i. e. sprung from a family (either patrician or plebeian) many members of which had filled curule offices, and consequently possessing the jus imaginum (opp. homo novus or ignobilis; cf.:
generosus, amplus): non facit nobilem atrium plenum fumosis imaginibus, Sen. Ep. 44, 5: quanta sit in invidiā apud quosdam nobilis homines novorum hominum virtus et industria, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 71, § 181: Clodia mulier non solum nobilis sed etiam nota, id. Cael. 13, 31: nobili genere nati, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 70, § 180: homines apud nos noti, inter suos nobiles, id. Fl. 22, 52; Liv. 22, 58.—Hence, subst.: nōbĭlis, is, m., a nobleman: nobiles nostri, Plin. Ep. 5, 17, 5; Vulg. Isa. 5, 13; id. Psa. 149, 8: Nobilissimus, most noble, under the later emperors, a title of the Cæsars and of the members of the imperial family, Cod. Th. 10, 25, 1; Dig. 40, 11, 3.—C. Of a noble kind, noble, excellent, superior:
tres nobilissimi fundi, Cic. Rosc. Am. 35, 99: nobiliumque greges custos servabat equarum, Ov. M. 2, 690: nobilis hic (equus), quocumque venit de gramine, Juv. 8, 60.—Hence, adv.: nōbĭlĭter, famously, excellently, splendidly, nobly (mostly post-Aug.; not in Cic. or Cæs.), Vitr. 7 praef.: nobiliter caelare argentum, Plin. 34, 8, 19, § 91.—Comp.: nobilius philosophari, Sid. Ep. 9, 9.—Sup.: ab exercitu nobilissime tumulatus, Liv. Epit. 54.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
nōbilis e, adj. with comp. and sup.
GNA-, that is known, well-known, famous, noted, celebrated, renowned : frater eius, T.: rhetor: oppidum: in philosophiā: famā, Cs.: nobilior vir factis quam genere, L.: Corinthus aere, O.: propter alqd, Iu.: (puer) superare pugnis, H.: e rectis fundere gaesa rotis, Pr.— Notorious : sumptuosa, nobilis, T.: taurus.— High-born, of noble birth, noble (usu. of families from which the high offices of state had been filled): homines (opp. novi homines): nobili genere nati: Carthaginiensis, L.— Noble, excellent, superior, splendid : tres nobilissimi fundi: equae, O.: nihil erat eā picturā nobilius.
Origins
From nōscō (“know, recognize”) + -bilis. Cognate with Russian зна́тный (znátnyj) (< знать (znatʹ)).
Descendants
- Catalannoble
- Englishnoble
- Frenchnoble
- Germannobel
- Italiannobile
- Portuguesenobre
- Romaniannobil
- Spanishnoble
- Swedishnobel
- Dutchnobel
In English words that came into English from nōbilis
- noblenōbilis
- ignobleignōbilis
- nobilitynobilitas
- ignobilityignōbilitās
- antinobilismnōbilis
- nobilifynōbilis
- nobilissimusnōbilissimus