Where does “noble” come from?
Noble comes from Old French noble, from Latin nobilis meaning "known" or "famous," derived from the suffix -ibilis and the verb gnosco meaning "to know," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃-.
noble (English): An aristocrat; one of aristocratic blood; A...
Definitions
- An aristocrat; one of aristocratic blood; A...
Ancestry of “noble”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | noble | noble; upper-class; well-bred |
| 2 | Latin | nōbilis | noble, high-born |
| 3 | Latin | -bilis | -ble |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -ðlis | Forms adjectives from verb stems indicating capacity or worth of being acted on |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlom | Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;... |