nobility : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: nobility	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for nobility
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
nobility n a privileged class holding hereditary titles [syn: nobility, aristocracy] the quality of elevation of mind and exaltation of character or ideals or conduct Synonym(s): nobility, nobleness, magnanimousness, grandeur the state of being of noble birth Synonym(s): nobility, noblesse
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Nobility \Nobil"ity\, n. [L. nobilitas: cf. OF. nobilit[82]. See {Noble}.] 1. The quality or state of being noble; superiority of mind or of character; commanding excellence; eminence. Though she hated Amphialus, yet the nobility of her courage prevailed over it. --Sir P. Sidney. They thought it great their sovereign to control, And named their pride nobility of soul. --Dryden. 2. The state of being of high rank or noble birth; patrician dignity; antiquity of family; distinction by rank, station, or title, whether inherited or conferred. I fell on the same argument of preferring virtue to nobility of blood and titles, in the story of Sigismunda. --Dryden. 3. Those who are noble; the collictive body of nobles or titled persons in a stste; the aristocratic and patrician class; the peerage; as, the English nobility.